The Hero meets a half-breed
by Kylandor
Summary: Dante and a new member of the Devil May Cry team head to Sasukuza to investigate the possibility of Satan himself hiding amongst the populace there. The new devil hunter, Ray Zenji however knows his target all too well, having fought his forces in Ente Isla four years prior and also for four years was trapped there, and he has a complicated history with the hero Emilia.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Arrival

"There are in fact many worlds. Earth and Ente Isla are only two grains of sand in a desert."

* * *

It was a slow day at the MgRonalds Sadao worked at. It would be this day his life would change yet again, for the worst. Dealing with small things as if they meant the end of the world, such as malfunctioning kitchen equipment or days like his in where he simply has little to do but stand around. But now bigger problems were about to hit.

* * *

Sasukuza district, Tokyo, Modern Day

* * *

A man with white hair yet appearing in his late 20s was staring at an advertisement for a new item at the fast food place, that item being strawberry sundaes.

Clad in a red trenchcoat with a black leather vest and a large guitar case on his back, to his right was another man in his early 20s with black hair and effectively the same trenchcoat and leather vest, only he was lacking a guitar case on his back. He spoke, saying "Dante, I thought we were here for business, not sightseeing." Dante, the white haired male smirked and replied "Kid if you don't relax once in a while you'll be so stressed you'd probably have a heart attack in the middle of a fight. Just relax and get something to eat, it's not like there's a lot of buildings we could use for the expansion around here." The black haired male replies as Dante begins walking into the restaurant, saying "Nero may not mind being called kid by you but don't irk my anger, I have a name." Getting no response from Dante the man sighed and walked into the MgRonalds as well.

After ordering strawberry sundaes the two found a place to sat, but Dante's companion seemed uneasy which prompted Dante to say "Didn't I tell you to relax Ray?"  
Ray Zenji, his companion, replied with a low voice "I thought you'd have noticed by now." Dante replied "At that level of power he's just another small fry, he's not doing any harm right now so I'll just leave him alone, besides I don't want to add the damages of this place just for fighting a bottom feeder to my already insurmountable debt and we're here for the big guy, our informant said he once ruled a large portion of another realm and is hiding around here somewhere."

Ray sighed and finished his sundae rather quickly compared to Dante who was leisurely enjoying it. Ray got up and said "Yeah well you don't have enough to even rent out an apartment here without going bankrupt so I'm going to investigate the old fashioned way, by getting involved with the community and listening for rumors, this isn't the first time I've been to Japan, or Tokyo for that matter." Dante replied "And remember what happened last time? You got sucked in some kind of portal and went missing for 4 years." Ray shrugged and said "Even if I get sucked into a worldgate like last time I can just open up another and come back, I learned a few things in that world and I know who our target is, he's not a small fry so you should be taking this job more seriously." Dante chuckles slightly and says "Well if that kid can give him a run for his money than I don't see why I should bother getting serious." Ray shrugged his head and said "Don't underestimate Emilia, she is one of the few who can make me enjoy a fight, and she nearly killed me. She's not just a half-demon she's also a half-angel, although she thinks her other half is human and not demon blood." Dante replies "Hey kid, I have no need to fear a Nephelim, remember that alter-ego version of myself someone cooked up who tried to trash my shop? Hell Vanguards can fight better than him." Ray shook his head and walked without saying anything else, Dante's only experience with Nephelim was with the weak ones, someone along the lines of Emilia Justina could put up an equal fight with even the son of sparda, provided she was at full power.

* * *

After nearly half a day of paperwork, Ray had managed to find a place to reside for the time being, although the landlady was definitely not an ordinary human, possessing powers similar to a more notable demon and unlike Dante, he didn't have a large crate of debt on his back and could take his time taking care of jobs, afterall most don't realize that Tokyo is crawling with lesser demon varients called Youma and if you know the right contacts, and Ray indeed does, you could make a healthy sum in taking them down, lesser demons like that are no burden to Ray and he would honestly have a harder time adjusting to a civilian job like a cashier or phone operator, desk jobs just do not suit him and it is one of the few things he has in common with Dante.

After getting his room in order, Ray decided to just take a leisurely walk about the area, there were no jobs at the moment and it was honestly unusual to him, usually there were at least 4 youma waiting to die in Sasukuza every week and yet there wasn't a single incident for the past week according to his contacts.

No more than three minutes into his walk he felt a magical presence and turned his head in it's direction.

He couldn't believe his eyes, she was supposed to be presumed dead...

* * *

Emi continued to ponder in her thoughts about whether or not spying on Sadao will do any good, and the aftermath of his fight with Sariel left her even more confused as to how the demon king could act so human. Then someone came into view and the sight alone interrupted her thoughts. Flashbacks can be swift indeed.

* * *

3 years ago, Ente Isla

* * *

Ray sighed as he pulled his longsword, Hunter out of yet another demonic creature attacking the town he was staying at, he had been trapped here for a year and he still saw no end to the bloodshed caused by either inter-human conflict or the demon invasion. It was no different from Earth except for the increased magic and decreased technology.

In the distance, outside the town he noticed a large reptilian demon who seemed to have the power to turn ordinary people to stone with poison claws, though one person wasn't affected. Ray sighed and decided to assist, even if she had high affinity in magic, she was not looking too good, Ray's heightened perceptions allowed him to know she had a bad head injury and if it wasn't treated soon, she would pass out, and in the middle of a fight means she would be lizard food.

Just as the silver haired woman evaded a strike from the creature's tail, the said tail was sliced clean off by another weapon, his approach was in the blink of an eye, there was no way he could be human and do such a maneuver. Ray had just air tricked to strike down the creature and without it's tail, it lost it's strongest weapon.

The demon however was unwilling to give up and quickly dashed at Ray with it's claws only for a loud thundering sound accompanied by several lead projectiles slamming into the creature faster than sound, Ray had crafted pistols similar to Dante's before being trapped in Ente Isla although he preferred his sword more often in Ente Isla, as gunfire could attract the wrong attention, he had already made that mistake once and got a name for himself in the process, the Thundering Demon.

Ray continued to fire his two pistols as if they were limitless in ammo, both were silver in color unlike Dante's Ebony &amp; Ivory which had opposite colors, the design was also slightly different, having longer barrels and laser sights attached beneath the barrels.

After effortlessly killing the creature with his guns he holstered them in concealed positions in his trenchcoat and turned to face the woman who had just collapsed, having taking a heavy blow to her head no doubt.

* * *

Today

* * *

Emi obviously knew there was more to the story but she wasn't going to dwell on old memories, only settle old debts as she began to approach Ray with a serious face.

Ray sighed in annoyance and scratched the back of his head and said aloud "Do I really have to deal with this now?" Emi was close enough to hear and when she got slightly closer she began to talk, saying "Raymond Zenji, what are you doing here?" Ray sighed and replied "I came from here, well not specifically Japan but I am Earthborn. My question is why are you here or better yet how are you here? You were declared to have been killed in action." Emi shook her head and said "I followed the devil through the gate and ended up here. So this is the other world you came from, it makes sense actually considering the weapons you used to use." Ray replied "I still use them, Ente Isla isn't the only place with a demon problem, they're just more careful and secretive on Earth, except some cases, though the demons in Ente Isla are nothing compared to the ones here." Emi replied "Well at the very least you haven't changed how you dress. But don't for one moment assume I've forgotten your betrayal." Ray sighed and said "For the last time, I was not responsible for that incident, believe it or not I was not the only one in Ente Isla with firearms, just the only one with repeating firearms." Emi shook her head and said "No, I was there, and it was definitely your work." Ray replied with a more serious tone "In either case, do you really intend to fight me in the open here? Two people dueling in the streets of Tokyo with swords is not exactly inconspicuous."

Emi replied "I'll be keeping an eye on you either way. But seriously, why are you here?" Ray scratched the back of his head and said "Oh well I suppose I'm here to do your job. Find the Demon King and disprove the notion that demons are immortal. I learned how to form worldgates a year after you disappeared and reconnected with old acquaintances here. I am not here alone, keep this in mind and he is more than capable of doing this job alone."

A moment of silence brushed between the two of them before Emi broke the silence, saying "Well, he is here but, going directly after him will cause problems, it's difficult to explain." Ray sighed and said "I knew it, the guy at the MgRonalds. Ente Islan Demons rely on despair for their powers, but not the ones here. Since there is very little despair in Tokyo, it would be logical to assume he is weak now. Is there anyone with him?"

Emi nodded and said "Alciel and Lucifer, but going after them would be just as difficult. Don't do anything rash, this isn't Ente Isla and don't forget we still have a score to settle." Ray shook his head and said "I won't take rash action, fine. But there is no score to settle here, I did not betray you period, if you want to spar once in a while then be my guest, but don't assume it will be like last time, I've learned a few new tricks from the last year I spent in Ente Isla before coming back."

Emi said nothing and gave no response other than walking away, a combination of anger and regret boiling inside her, emotions that Ray knew were present.

* * *

3 years ago, Ente Isla

* * *

Emilia woke up with a headache, grabbing her head only to feel a wrapped bandage around it, looking over to a nearby table there were some blood soaked bandages in a bin, implying the bandage was changed now and then. Her surroundings seemed to be a modest room, wooden construction, a window showed that she was in the town, smoke in the distance implied a fight was going on in the outskirts.

Just as Emilia sat up, the room's door opened and in walked the man who she remembered had killed the lizard who ravaged her group, dressed in a red trenchcoat with a black leather vest, his hair black and his eyes a dark brown shade. He spoke first, saying "Oh good, you're awake. My name is Ray Zenji and well, I saved your life. You've been out for three days."

* * *

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Old Friends

"Those who stand by you in times of war connect to you in ways that do not exist in the common bounds of society."

* * *

3.5 Years ago, Ente Isla

* * *

The man who identified himself as Ray Zenji was leaning against the wall as the smoke outside began to settle and the glow from the flames dimmed into non-existence.

Emilia tried to sit up completely but felt a sharp pain in her lower back which made her groan slightly in pain, normally anyone else would shout but Emilia Justina was a hardened soldier of merit and very rarely allowed herself to give off the hint that she was distressed or in pain in the cases where it was possible to hide it. Ray sighed and placed his hand on Emilia's left shoulder to stop her from getting up and said "Slow down, you may be resilient against injury but you're not immortal, the cuts on your head were the least of your injuries and I don't want you to open up the stitches in your lower abdomen. A centimeter more to the left and you would be dead."

Emilia reluctantly decided to lay back down and pulled the covers up and saw bandages wrapped around where her liver resides and is a bit disbelieving of the extent of the injury because of the sparse pain in her front and feels more pain in her lower back and left shoulder. Ray takes notices of her self-inspection and says "If you have any doubts of my medical capacity I assure you I've treated worse. Most of the pain you feel is being suppressed by a liquid solution I gave you whilst you were unconscious, it kept your nutritional levels stable and should be helping the pain. As for your privacy I have respected that, you were lucky that the reptile didn't cause any chest injuries or I might not have been able to treat your blood loss, even for you losing the heart is fatal."

Emilia replied "When I move the pain hits my lower back and left shoulder. More importantly though, were there any other survivors from my unit?" Ray closed his eyes and shook his head lightly before saying "Just you and I almost couldn't save you from the injuries at that. If I wasn't there you would be dead for sure. I'm sorry for the loss of your comrades but the village is safe for now, the other squads and units of the church managed to push back Satan's forces. I've already informed them of your survival Miss Justina, they told me a healer was on his way but he never came so I assume bandits are taking advantage of the chaos."

Emilia closed her eyes and in a sudden burst of anger slammed her right fist into the wall, making the wooden construction crack and suddenly the pain made her regret her action as stitches in her lower arm came undone and began to bleed.

Ray spoke in a language Emilia had no knowledge of, saying in English "Why are all the hero types so damn hardheaded." and as Emilia grabbed the reopened wound he calmed down and spoke in Ente Islan, saying "I'll stitch it back up if you don't punch the walls again." Emilia sighed and extended the wounded arm as Ray grabbed suturing supplies from the desk beside the bed and removed the torn stitches and said "This is going to sting." Emilia steeled herself as Ray pulled out a flask which smelled of a strong alcohol and poured some across the wound, causing searing pain which Emilia was able to keep bottled up inside her as Ray began to stitch the deep cut, a process which took him less than a minute.

Ray bandaged the sutured area of her arm and said "Don't exert yourself, three days isn't much recovery time for injuries of this extent. I've only seen one person recover from shit like this every 15 minutes and you are not him.". Emilia felt both annoyed and curious, he obviously seemed to know what he was doing as she remembered having a serrated blade made of bone impale her in the place Ray mentioned was the worst injury and he treated it without killing her.

* * *

Days passed as Emilia recovered from her injuries, Ray Zenji made sure she didn't over-exert herself and when she did he made sure any reopened wounds were closed again. Both seemed annoyed at eachother, Ray did not exactly have perfect bedside manner and Emilia was not one to stay still, especially when she had a war to be fought.

* * *

At least 2 weeks into her recovery several members of the church paid her visits to inform her that the battles being fought were currently stalemates and to make it known that Ray was now being paid to help her recover as the only healer Emilia trusted was robbed and killed by bandits en route to the cabin.

By the end of the month her physical injuries were healed, their severity normally would have merited two or three months of recovery.

She strapped on her armor which Ray had repaired during his trips to the more densely populated part of the town and when she felt confident, summoned Better-Half and sheathed it on her left hip. As she opened the door, Ray stood on the other side, dressed in his trenchcoat and black vest with a large sword resting on his back with no sheath keeping it in place, she could sense some form of magic keeping it there but it was not Celestial Force, his weapon itself felt as if it were a demon's weapon rather than a blade forged by men.

Ray spoke, saying "I guess you're leaving now, don't be reckless and get yourself killed, stay alive." Emilia shook her head with a smirk and replied "I'll be fine, they don't call me Hero Emilia for no reason." As she walked by him, he said "Heroes always end up dead or incapacitated beyond the ability to fight. Few are exception to this rule."

Emilia stopped and turned to face Ray, saying "If you're so concerned then why don't you come with me, I've learned that looks can be deceiving and also." she paused for a moment before saying "You've earned my trust." Ray gave a light smile and said "Alright, might be fun to get back in the demon slaying business." Emilia returned his smile and chuckled lightly before replying "Then let's get moving."

* * *

Modern Times - Raymond's room, 7:18 am

* * *

Ray woke from his memories with a feeling of regret, dressed in a plain black T-shirt and wearing the cargo pants he wears whenever he's on the job.

His physical build much the same as three and a half years ago, seemingly weak yet he displays a superhuman agility and strength when he fights. Feeling a bit of longing for old times he remembered when he and Emilia were comrades in arms. His dreams are memories now, meeting Emilia who is now going by the name Yusa Emi jogged his memories of before she accused him of murdering a church official. Ray knew who the killer was, but was unsure if he was willing to give up the hunt for the demon king so soon.

Then another memory hit him, his eyes went wide for a moment and he quickly shut them with a tear coming down his left eye.

* * *

A memory, one year ago, Ente Isla

* * *

Blood poured down his vest, pierced by a sword charged with Celestial Force, Ray felt pain in his heart twofold, the physical pain and the emotional pain. He had come back from a scouting mission in the central continent whilst Emilia had defeated one of Satan's generals in battle and the demon general was presumed dead. Ray looked at his own right hand which was gripping his devil arm, having reshaped into a Katana. Instinct told him to thrust it into Emilia's heart, her eyes staring at him as if she was pleading him to do it. His will instead made the sword phase into energy and absorb into his own hand.

Ray resumed his focus on Emilia's face as tears rolled down her eyes, she shouted in his face "After everything you've done, why? Why did you betray everyone, why did you kill Bennard? He was on our side!"

Ray repeated for what seemed to be a hundredth time though it was only the third, he repeated "I did not kill the church priest, I wasn't even in the continent at the time Emilia! What reason would I have to betray you after everything I've done before, I've saved your life countless times, patched up every injury you've needed help with, we-"

Emilia was filled with both fury and sorrow as she wanted Ray to stop lying to her as well as to stop pointing out the fact that up until the incident, they were closer than siblings, so many had misinterpreted their lack of restraint as romantic feelings only for the fact to exist they were brother and sister through war. Even though they were not related by blood, their adventures together had brought a bond that Emilia did not want shattered, only for, to her point of view, have it shattered against her will.

She interrupted him by thrusting Better-Half deeper into his chest, the other end of the blade began to pierce the tree which Ray was impaled against by his closest friend.

Tears fell down his eyes as he groaned in pain and slowly began to close his eyes and once they were closed he said "Emilia, you've always known and kept secret my other half, but you don't even know yourself. I'm sorry about this, but if you are so blinded by the lies Olba is telling you than so be it. Emilia Justina, do not seek me out, you would only delay the true mission. I ask that you stop the demon king without betraying your convictions."

Emilia was, for a moment, overcome with grief over her actions, she had done just that, she had betrayed her convictions by killing the first person since her father that she trusted with her thoughts.

Ray painfully moved his left hand to wipe the tears from her eyes, which caused her to feel a bit of anger as she perceived him to continue to be pretending to care, feeling as if he was never truly her friend for three years. She thrust Better-Half so deep that the hilt of the blade was against his chest, the blade itself either inside him, the tree behind him or protruding out of said tree.

Ray then said, painfully "I won't let you betray yourself, if it reinforces your belief that I am your enemy then fine. Just as long as you don't lose faith in yourself.".

Having said those words Ray activated a powerful burst of dark magic Emilia had never seen before, a demonic form took Ray's place, a form more horrible and inhuman than anything Emilia had ever seen, even Alciel had no comparison to the form that was once her friend. Ray said nothing in his devil triggered state, merely flapping his wings so hard that Emilia was knocked back, the tree behind him was shattered by the force of Ray flying back. He then pulled better half from his chest and his fully manifested form began to heal his injury as if it were nothing, the stress and pain was high because this was the first time he had ever done a full-scale devil trigger, all times before were partial transformations, such as his arms or legs, or sprouting wings without changing the rest of his body, things Emilia had seen him do before in battle. This was different, he for a moment wanted to break the blade in half, but instead tossed it lightly towards Emilia who regained her footing and grabbed the sword instinctively without calling to it with Celestial Force, Ray was returning it to her. He hovered in the air for a few seconds as Emilia wiped her remaining tears and took a fighting stance only for Ray to send a massive air burst with his wings, disorienting Emilia.

When she recovered, Raymond Zenji was nowhere in sight and there were no hints to which direction he fled.

* * *

It was a memory he wanted to forget, but couldn't. It was the only impulse which made him drink alcohol yet his demonic side made it extremely difficult for it to affect him in the way he wanted it to, but this time he didn't feel the urge to drink. All times before this memory had happened was when he assumed she was dead, that there was no chance for reconciliation, no chance to prove to her that Olba was the killer, that he lied to her from the start and killed his predecessor with a weapon Ray had given him out of respect, respect that was betrayed. Olba killed Bennard to gain a closer position to Emilia so he could have more political power after the war, Ray knew that Olba was somewhere on Earth as if Emilia pursued the Demon King then so too might Olba pursue Emilia to ensure she would never speak against his political actions.

Ray then heard knocking at the door, he could only assume who it was and the voice behind it confirmed it.

Dante was on the other side, having found his partner's place of residence and said "Hey Ray, open up, we need to make some money and I just got a call from our mutual acquaintance here in Tokyo, says a youma has been harassing some Politican's daughter and he wants us to deal with it." Ray would normally brush this off and look for a case which doesn't seem like an overprotective father assuming a secret admirer was a demon, but he wanted to push through the memories and the best way to do that was chasing a lead, even if it seemed bogus.

* * *

To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Tales of a War

"A house divided against itself cannot stand whilst true, does not necessarily mean it will fall instantly."

* * *

Earth, Tokyo, 1:35 pm

* * *

As Dante and their client were discussing the incidents that seemed to occur around the politican's daughter Ray was busy reading a book titled "History of Heaven" which seemed to be in no recognizable language except to Ray though in reality it was a book from Ente Isla that Ray "borrowed" from the Divine Library the church reserved for their highest ranking members and at the time Ray was investigating wither or not the attack on a series of small towns was demon related or in contradiction to the Ente Isla's dominant church's views on angels and heaven, related to angels. Ray was reading the book over again out of pure boredom this time and to distract his mind from harsh memories, time and time again he had felt a sharp pain in his chest or rather a phantom pain as there was no wound but rather the memory of being impaled to a tree by his closest friend a year and a half prior to the present day.

Dante brought him back to reality as he said "Get all that kid?" Ray had been paying attention to the conversation though he seemed absent from it, in short the Youma attacks actually seemed the other way around, It was more like the youma were the ones being attacked by the man's daughter through some kind of fire spell which was misinterpreted by the father as the youma's attack, not his daughter's attack.

Ray nodded and without taking his eyes off the book, said "I can do two things at once and you know it. In effect I don't even see why we're here as his daughter Rei is more than capable of fending off a few youma."

The client was a bit unnerved at the fact that Ray had interpreted his story differently than what he himself believes though Dante's expression isn't changed which brings the thought that perhaps too the famous American devil hunter came to the same incorrect (to his mind) conclusion.

Dante noticed the man's reaction to Ray's statement and said "Well in either case if you want 24/7 protection you should hire a bodyguard, we don't do full-time jobs but we can find out the source of the youma harassing your daughter and put an end to it."

Ray closed his book and concealed it in his trenchcoat as he sat up saying "I've already figured it out Dante, most of the attacks occur at the shrine Rei attends, I bet if we hang around there for a while we'll see some action though I won't expect much from youma as unlike demons they attack to incapacitate, not to kill unless ordered to do so by their higher authorities." The girl's father spoke, saying "You act like you know a lot about these things." Ray scratched the back of his head and said "Well I got into it with a large group four years ago and ended up being spirited away to another world before finding my way back but quite honestly it was a little better over there than it is in some other places demons and youma typically drag you and both me and Dante have been through all the circles of hell, literally."

Dante sighed at his friend's statement, usually Dante avoids talking about past jobs unless it concerns the one he's on now though Ray is more talkative when it comes to his encounters with the supernatural.

* * *

7:35 pm

* * *

Dante was relaxing on a picnic table, empty pizza box nearby whilst Ray was reading some comic book of a man who dresses like a bat to beat people up which to Dante makes him seem just as insane as the guys he fights with the exception of that crazed clown whose personality reminds him of Jester or rather more accurately Arkham's façade eight years back.

Ray closed the book and put it in his trenchcoat and got up, saying "I'm heading over to the shrine itself to see if anything is happening, if I find a youma you'll hear White Eagle right away.

Dante replied "Alright but be careful, this country doesn't like handguns much on the legal stage." Ray replied as he was walking up the hill, saying "Says the guy who has two of them."

As Ray reaches the shrine he notices a girl in her mid teens walking out and as she glances in his direction has her face change with slight shock, her pupils grow large but not by fear, Ray would have smelled fear but rather he can tell she is having some kind of precognitive moment, he's had a few himself in the past and they've all turned out true though he suppressed these abilities when he realized life isn't fun if you know what's already going to happen.

Just a few feet from her she speaks, saying "Can I help you sir?" Ray smirks and grabs her arm, tossing her out of the way of a demonic tail which was just about to impale her from behind and with his free hand, summons with a red energy circle his sword, Hunter. Normally he'd summon his firearm, White Eagle and make some noise so Dante can join the fun but right now he wants to vent out his memories and what better way to do that than to play with some lesser demon such as this but that was the interesting thing, this was a demon, not a youma and usually demons tend to stay away from Tokyo because of the rumors of youma hunting girls who as far as Ray could tell from the news casts had a bad sense of attire when it came to combat.

The demon's tail impaled Ray in the chest, missing it's intended target which was the girl who was now on the ground both shocked and horrified when she notices that perhaps a total stranger had given up his life for hers, until he started laughing in the demon's face like it was only tickling him.

Ray smirked and slashed his sword in a windmill like motion which severed the demon's tail from it's back and then Ray pulled out the severed tail from himself, healing from the injuries rapidly as Rei began to sense demonic energy due to affinity in certain magical arts. In her mind she was capable of taking out the demon herself but she needed privacy to gain her powers and at the same time two more appeared to encircle Ray.

Sending a single slash forward he ended the incapacitated demon's life and turned his attention to the other one which was closest to the girl and sent a three-move slash combo which left it in three pieces which to Ray was unsatisfying as even Hell Prides, a lesser demon which isn't rather fast or durable can take more of a punishment, it was like fighting humans or rather in this case, animals. Ray then turned and parried a tail stab from the remaining blue scaled tiger like demon and propelled himself at the creature with a magical burst which also sent his sword forward, turning him into a human missile which at that pace and formation, sliced the demon in half from head to tail.

Ray turned his attention to the girl and said "Any idea on why these things are after you? Me and a friend were hired by your father to investigate and put an end to the youma harassing you." Rei got up and replied with a lie and half truth, saying "I don't know, they began attacking me specifically a month ago and I've been lucky enough so far that the heroines known as the Sailor Senshi were nearby."

As Ray's mind put the pieces together he felt a kind of passive magic attempt to rescatter them only for his demon side to prove far stronger than it and he then says "There's more to you than meets the eye isn't there miss Hino. Here's my belief, you are one of these heroines and they are targeting you because of that fact. Your little attempt to scatter the puzzle in my head failed and proved my suspicions."

Rei was shocked as both her vision of this man telling her that came to pass mere seconds after she had it and of the fact that he was immune to the veil that was supposed to be flawless to the point that other senshi couldn't pierce it and yet this man did it without any sign of strain or increase of magical energies and as she felt an aura from his sword she began to realize that he wasn't fully human himself.

Dante interceded and said "It's not like you to chat up a girl after killing some demons and by the way, it's also not like you to cut me out of the fun."  
Ray sighed as Rei's face seemed to get furious at the possibility that her "savior" was hitting on her which in fact he wasn't. Ray then said "Ignore the first comment, Dante has a habit of screwing around in both respects but as for the second comment, I needed to vent some steam and these three Dragon Tails happened to be the victims of that venting." Dante felt a small degree of concern for his companion after hearing what he said, rarely anything agitates Ray and truth be told in some cases he has a cooler head than what Dante remembers of his brother Vergil though at the same time Vergil's skills in battle surpass Ray's own skills.

After an uneasy moment of silence Rei then said "Well in either case, you can tell my father I will be absolutely fine." Ray then said "No you won't be, youma are one thing but these were demons and that isn't common in Tokyo. If demons are taking an interest in you than you should be very worried. I believe however that this attack was a feint, me and Dante are pursuing this as a side job but the presence of Dragon Tails suggests the Demon King may be involved in some way or rather considering what I've seen so far, that they are attempting to contact him and judging by the lack of youma incidents I believe that said youma are trying to stop them."

Dante's concern left him as Ray began to think straight once more and the girl was both genuinely surprised and fearful of the man's theory.

* * *

As time passed more demons attacked the girl until realizing her bodyguards were the infamous devil hunters from the west, afterwards Dante managed to rent a room at a hotel with the earnings the girl's father paid him for slaying (or rather for Ray slaying most of them, when others came after the first night Dante had to keep a close eye in order to get in on the fight as Ray was focused on venting steam and at one point fired over 500 rounds of ammo into a demon he had killed with his sword beforehand.

Then one day as Ray walked out of his room he saw the man who was working as the cashier of the MgRonalds he and Dante had been frequenting recently.

At this distance Ray noticed immediately that Sadao was an Ente Islan Demon and Sadao instantly recognized Raymond and lost his cool, shouting "What are you doing here?" Ray raised an eyebrow and began to laugh outloud before saying "Looks like Earth doesn't agree with you Satan, the lack of despair in Sasakuza has drained you of your powers to such an extent that it has turned you into a human, at this point I could end you without my sword and gun if I wanted. But what I'm more interested in is why you're flipping burgers at a fast food joint."

Sadao regains his composure, he had met the man known as the "Thundering Demon" in the past and witnessed him slay a third of his personal guard before leaving for seemingly no reason and the man's skills were equally deadly as his own. Sadao spoke, saying "Well if you must know, I intend to build up a career and eventually take over this world before returning to Ente Isla and finish what I began." Ray's face was seemingly filled with laughter that wasn't being expressed and he let a snicker come out as he then said "Seriously? You're going to try and seize this world by what, becoming the world's greatest fry cook? And how the hell are you going to get back to Ente Isla if you don't even have enough magic to open a gate to that world and if you tried to conquer Earth you'd end up eating a nuke or two."

Sadao had been used to constant blows to his confidence before from Emi but this one was the biggest, he was more and more feeling powerless compared to how far Earth had advanced which left Ente Isla in the dark. Even the armies of Heaven required intense sacrifice in order to cause the level of destruction a missile that could be built within a month with very little effort compared to the use of magic though then again, that was only factoring in the radiation and counting the larger bombs and still, if he was a full power he wouldn't need to worry about such a thing but time and time again he has noticed that without a divine presence on Earth mankind has advanced to the point where they could become just as powerful as demons if given the time, and Sadao honestly at this point was losing his interest in the topic. Time and time again he has had a chance to return to Ente Isla with enough magic to seize it and time and time again he used it instead to do things he never gave any thought whatsoever back in Ente Isla.

The phase of deep thought was broken by the sound of Ray yawning and then saying "If you're going to be in deep thought like that then give me a warning next time, seriously you stopped talking and were rubbing your chin for a full two minutes."

Ray then felt an uneasy presence nearby and resumed talking, saying "I'll be leaving but just forewarning, show your demon side and me and a friend of mine will put you down for good and my friend doesn't really care if he ends up causing property damage as a result."

* * *

Several Minutes later

* * *

Ray was sitting down on a bench, reading another book from Ente Isla, this time out of interest in the topic "Celestial Force and it's origins."

As he recalled, that was the type of magic Emilia used to manifest her weapon Better Half which was effectively her version of a Devil Arm as Better Half is joined with her essence and thus, a part of her which also brings up an interesting subject as the year after Emilia disappeared was full of extensive searches to locate Better Half and rumors indicated Heaven ordered the church to conduct the searches and more often then not Ray found himself at odds with the aftermath of those searches such as subsequent charges which had no basis in fact brought upon innocent people recovering from the war. It reminded him of the Spanish Inquisition and he believed such a phase was happening in Ente Isla.

* * *

3 Years ago, Ente Isla

* * *

The camp was full of young men eager to fight Satan's armies, some hardened veterans were dismissive of most of them as they expected most of them to die when the fighting began, something that they had seen happen so often they rather not make more friends knowing they were walking into their own death.

Ray was polishing a pistol larger than the others he used when he saved Emilia's life, this one was 1/4th larger and had on the right side of the barrel an engraving in English, the words being White Eagle. To him he knew the weapon in every manner, using his demonic powers he magically keeps the magazine full of .50AE rounds, heavy duty pistol rounds used by Desert Eagles and are comparable to a .50 caliber regarding the differences between 5.56x12mm rounds and actual .50 CAL ammo. On his back is Hunter, a greatsword of considerable length and seemingly too heavy for a man of his build to carry yet alone swing one-handedly without effort. Emilia interrupted his gun maintenance by speaking, saying "We will be heading to the ruins of an old village soon to scavenge supplies to finish your invention. You've been preoccupied with that device for a while now, may I ask what it is specifically?"

Ray replied, saying "To the frame and construction it uses non-magical means of propelling lead projectiles at speeds faster than sound, explosive powder filled in a cartridge is struck by the hammer in the back of the frame, igniting the powder which in turn causes an explosion to propel the bullet forward. I use magic to ensure I never run out of cartridges by transmuting the energy to more ammo, the bullets are also infused with my power so they can damage ethereal targets which normally a sword would simply pass through as if striking through smoke."

Emilia was intrigued at the explanation and was a little surprised that the physical sciences could construct weapons on par with magic.

Ray interrupted her thoughts by saying "This town we're heading to, as far as I know it is your old hometown." Emilia nodded slightly, her facial expression changing to a feeling seemingly mixed about from regret, sadness and what could be interpreted as anger. Ray knew her story, she had told him only the previous month that soon after the church took her in to train her to fight the demon king that demons descended on her hometown and in the aftermath, her father was nowhere to be found to the point that even a corpse was never discovered which also intruiged Ray to an extent, he had the gut feeling that her father was still alive but didn't voice these feelings to her because it might either cause her to be emotionally unbalanced or give her false hope which more or less is the same thing as the first possibility.

Several days later they arrived at what was left of the town, destroyed buildings and charred areas seemed commonplace, Emilia and Ray went ahead with a scouting party to determine if there was still a demon presence, though the town was in human lines it was still on the border and a demon army might use it as a staging area to attempt another push deeper into the continent.

Soon the group was split into 3 groups of two to cover more ground, Emilia and Ray going to an old shack with a collapsed roof on the outskirts of the town with a road leading to enemy territory, Emilia goes over to a field of flowers and seemingly stares outward as Ray notices she is seemingly in deep thought.

Ray speaks up, saying "Was this your house?" Emilia nodded and replied, saying "This was also where they told me that my mother was an angel and took me to train, not long after the enemy razed the town and my father was declared dead.

Ray felt as if he should leave her to stare outward for a while, no immediate danger was near and he said he was going to check the inside of the house, getting only a nod for a response he entered.

The house was wrecked in some places and merely dusty in others but the gaping hole in the roof gave off an aura which was likely there for some time, upon further inspection he realized a demon and an angel had fought here in the past and it seemed that it was a stalemate with the lack of skeletons or bodies and that the battle had taken place at the very least, 5 or 6 years ago.

Ray noticed a small degree of magic in the floor and found a hidden storage compartment and noticed a book with a title in a language not of Ente Isla, but rather of a language he knew in the past, the language that the demons of his world spoke, the language that he learned only from his interactions with a swordsman who was rumored to be of human and demon heritage. Ray began to read it without alerting Emilia and after finding a certain page hid the book in his trenchcoat, swearing to himself unless confronted on the issue, he would never tell her.

The page was that of a diary, owned by her late father, but the contents suggested not only was he alive, but revelations in there would reveal something that Emilia may become conflicted on in the future to a high degree.

* * *

Present Day

* * *

Ray pulls out another book, the very same diary he had found three years ago in Ente Isla and turned to the same page and stared at it's contents, wondering wither or not he should have held this information from her yet at the same time tell of it's contents, or at least part of them to Dante.

It read "Dearest Joanna, I miss you greatly, our daughter has grown strong and I hear of her exploits every day, circumstances have forced me to return to my first home, the demon realm. I can only hope Emilia never learns of this diary for within it are the secrets we both struggled hard to keep from her, she has already learned of her angel heritage and I fear if she learns of her demon heritage then she may end up becoming self-loathing or worse, self-destructive. I recently learned that the legendary Son of Sparda has a friend who was entrapped in Ente Isla and this man now fights with Emilia against Satan's armies to this day. Yesterday however an angel came and demanded I betray my own daughter and steal Better Half from her to give to him, this angel's name is Sariel who is also as we both now, your brother. I can only fear what would happen if others found about this secret, that Emilia would be shunned and that she would have no place to call home, neither Heaven nor Hell, neither the demon realm nor the human realm, I know of the tales you told me about how Nephelim always lead hard and often sorrow filled lives. I can only pray that Emilia and the church remain ignorant to these secrets, oh I fear the church if they learn of it, I fear they will attempt to kill her the moment they learn of it. I write in this diary only to remember these facts myself, so that I do not accidentally let them slip from my mouth when speaking to others for as far as my brethren know, my daughter was killed in battle and they must continue to believe his or they too will seek her out for the power Nephelim possess, a power that if genuine, will rival that of the unique power granted to those of Human and Demon heritage as well. It is not that Better Half assists her because she is half human, but because she is half demon. In memory, Gerald Justina."

Ray closes the book and conceals it in his trenchcoat, deciding to wander the town for a while to clear his mind.

* * *

To be continued...

* * *

Afterword:

Do not expect a major involvement from the Sailor Senshi, I placed Sailor Mars in here more as a cameo than a major role though this might change.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: True Demons

"Woe to the one who believes they have faced hell only for hell to show it's true face to them."

* * *

Ente Isla, 2 years ago

* * *

Ray stared at the old man, Olba who was to accompany him and Emilia's group from here on just gave him the wrong feeling, like he was familiar somehow, a faint energy wasn't distinguishable but that was because he also had Celestial Force flowing through him which made it difficult to detect anything else.

The group had dealt with betrayal recently thanks to a demon in the guise of a church priest but Emilia had discovered the means to detect such trickery, which resulted in a rather confused confrontation with Ray over the fact that his weapons were heavily charged with demonic energy, a question he barely managed to evade. He trusted her and if the circumstances to how he became what he was were different, he would have told her the day she woke up from her near-fatal injury.

As the days passed and more battles came about and it was beginning to be painfully clear that the church in the south wanted to weed their way into every aspect of human society on Ente Isla and were only tolerant of resistance because of the common threat, if that threat were defeated then they would most surely turn back to humanity's lesser favored nature of self-destruction.

One night, a night he wished didn't happen.

Bennard, Olba's assistant came to him with a long term mission in the Central Continent, Demon Territory.

"I think my skills are better suited in open conflict than for infiltration Bennie." said Ray, he made his dissatisfaction to Bennard known with that nickname, Bennie and Bennard disliked hearing it. He had his good side though as Bennard didn't see things the way Olba did, he wanted unity, not conquest and believed Emilia would be able to keep humanity from tearing itself apart or at the least prevent the church from going to far as unlike most of their officials, Bennard was not corrupt.

Bennard replied "That they are, but at the same time nobody else would be suited for this task and without it any attempt to invade the central continent is doomed to fail, even with Hero Emilia's help." Ray smirked and said "You forgot about me. I'm used to killing demons both here and at my home and trust me when I say the demons here are nothing compared to them. The Generals are the only thing even close and Satan himself I assume would only put up a moderate fight. You think you've seen hell? You have no idea what hell truly is Bennard."

Bennard sighed and said "Perhaps you are the expert then, you being one yourself." Bennard regretted those words as almost immediately Ray held White Eagle to his skull and said "Excuse me?" Bennard replied "I'm trained to sense such things, I'm sure Hero Emilia is capable but hasn't noticed yet because you conceal it as much as possible. I also found it odd you use less power the more Emilia is focused on her surroundings. I'm also sure a discharge from your unique weaponry isn't concealable."

Ray chuckled for a moment and holstered his pistol, saying "Well Bennie I didn't know you had the balls to say that to my face. I'll do your little wet work on one condition." Bennard replied "Name it."

Ray began to walk to the edge of the open tent as he said "No more secrets."

* * *

Ray approached Emilia who was alone at the center of the camp, most of the men asleep and the night watch falling asleep or keeping themselves awake on a special stimulant Ray had given them (or more specifically snuck in their water, not wanting the camp to be unguarded, Emilia knew, she just let Ray have some fun once in a while as he had a mischievous side when it came to some things but in battle he toyed with his enemies unless they got too close to Emilia, as if he were overprotective to the point that he stopped playing Cat and Mouse and just killed the creatures.).

Emilia spoke, saying "Need something?" Ray nodded and said "Just some time to talk. I'm sure you've suspected something by now, considering the feel of my weaponry."

Emilia's face became serious and she said "Why open this conversation all of a sudden?" Ray replied "I've got something that I have to take care of, which means I'll be absent for a while, there's a chance I might get delayed in returning also so I'll just say it. My abilities are demonic in nature, a difficult situation forced me to infuse myself with demonic power or die. I chose to live and I've made my life hunting the bastards who made a decision for me. There was someone who taught me how to fight, how to take those abominations down without breaking a sweat. Irony is he was half demon himself, by birth unlike me."

Emilia gave a slight smile and said "I've already figured out the nature of your powers. I let it be because I know you're a good person. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise." Ray sighed and said "I suppose my generosity helps sometimes or at least in Ente Isla, it's always been a downside in my world."

Emilia said "Speaking of your world, you rarely talk about it." Ray replied "Because the demon threat in my world is veiled, people don't have a common enemy and they have a constant history of perpetual warfare and conquest amongst themselves, something I fear will happen to Ente Isla if the demon threat is ended, no matter how or why." Emilia didn't think much of the aftermath of the war but now that Ray had mentioned it, there were several tensions among the humans of Ente Isla and the only thing keeping their swords from being thrown at eachother was because they were too busy throwing them at the demons.

Emilia spoke, saying "I suppose we'll have to deal with that when it happens. If I may ask one last question before you set off. How did you come to Ente Isla? You've never mentioned that."

Ray sighed and said "A demon I was about to kill got a little too clever and opened a gate, sending me here. I'm sure the gate sucked him in too however so the kid he was about to kill should be still alive." Emilia asked "Who did you save?"

Ray replied as he got up, saying "Some girl at some random School where I tracked the demon down. Her father contacted me about it and was worried it was a stalker but he couldn't do anything because his superiors said he was untouchable. I sensed a demonic aura around the kid in question, forgot her name by the way, and investigated further."

Emilia said "Were the two of you close?" Ray stared at her, saying "She was, what, 14. I don't know about this world but the age of adulthood is a lot higher in my world. Because we know a little bit more about brain chemistry than Ente Isla does." Emilia stared with an annoyed face and said "And would I be considered a kid?"

Ray nodded and said "Yeah, your just a few years shy of adulthood. Then again so am I but I don't think it'll matter much, side effect of the infusion of demonic power for me is longevity, I'll be stuck this age for the rest of my life."

Emilia sighed for a moment and Ray merely shook his head and said "It may have something to do with what we've experienced, the lack of a constant global conflict in my world has dulled our senses, allowing people to be naïve without any risk. Though also there is hard science to back these things up." Emilia grinned for a moment, saying "If people can go about their lives with naiveté and without risk then it's probably a better world than this one."

Ray shook his head and said "No, in honesty, it's worse. This world may have it's problems but mine has even more. Demons aside crime has become heavily organized and law and order is becoming weaker in influence. There are some checks and balances but not enough. Moral Depravation runs amok and is even considered acceptable. I suppose you could say more people of my world need the fear of God in them, Demon attacks simply aren't often enough to the point where most believe they are myth."

Emilia replied "Well, I suppose I've taken enough of your time. Be safe." Ray nodded his head and walked away, he could speak honestly to Emilia and it was something he enjoyed, despite their culture being over 800 years apart they thought alike, perhaps Ray was old-fashioned as those on Earth would say or perhaps the two seemed to be aligned in some way. Such a thought was humourous though, Ray believed in hard science and unlike Dante his encounters with demons only drove him to respect his faith even more so than before though in Dante's case he never was raised with any specific faith, just the facts and history of Sparda. Despite the fact that he was now no longer entirely human though, he did enjoy the fact that now he had the power to kill things once thought to be immortal.

* * *

Present Day, 11:17 PM

* * *

Boredom was the word Dante would use for this trip so far, Ray sighed as he sat on a bench in a small park at night, reading a fiction novel, the famous War of the Worlds. Ray occasionally recalled that Well's description of the Martians, being a large bear sized bug was identical almost to a certain demon he had encountered once, only this thing had recurved legs and swords for arms but still it was a lesser demon, one easily slain with a few follow-ups with Hunter, his devil arm.

Closing the book Ray looked at a surprise, Emilia was sitting on a bench opposite, looking at Ray.

"Since when did you learn how to use stealth?" said Ray.

Emi sighed and said "There's something I want from you, an honest answer. Assuming you didn't kill Bennard two years ago, who did?" Ray put the book away in his trenchcoat, he had changed into a black trenchcoat recently to be less obvious (And as much as it pained him to admit it, Dante indeed attracted a lot of attention and Ray was tired of being asked if he knew Dante, a lot of desperate eyes seemed to glance in Dante's direction and Ray knew the half-breed enjoyed the attention almost as much as he enjoyed hacking apart his own kin.) though still Emi found him easily, perhaps she knew what to look for with her supernatural senses as afterall Ray was infused with demonic energy, making anyone with magical senses able to notice him even amid a crowd.

Ray replied "I would have to say Olba, Bennard wasn't corrupt like the rest of Ente Isla's church. Plus I gave him a set of flintlock pistols I designed to help your war effort." Emi this time unlike the others had a face which wasn't disbelieving, she spoke, saying "Some time ago Olba made a deal with Lucifer to kill me and Maou, they failed but he tried a second tim-"

Ray darted forward with inhuman speed, tackling Emi and breaking the bench in the process, both his from the shockwave and her's from the impact, Emi didn't need to ask why, a gunshot is too easy to notice.

A summoning circle appears near Ray's hand, arming himself with White Eagle he unleashed a barrage in the direction of the gunshot and got up but was still tense, this was not a random robber, whoever was using this gun was seeming with demonic energy.

Emi got up and said "I've never seen you react that fast. Who was it."

Ray's eyes darted to the side, turning orange with demonic energy as he tackled Emi once more, saving her from a red sickle which was too familiar, Ray uttered the four letter word in English as his right arm had been blown clean off in the process though he quickly summoned and crushed a green Vital Star L to instantly regenerate the lost limb as an Abyss Demon made itself known, Emi just stared at the thing, she had never seen demons in this manner, fantasy goblins and reptilians with wings sure but those were nothing to this 'thing' was all she could picture.

Ray said "Run" softly as he summoned his Devil Arm and sent himself forward in a stinger, slamming into the Abyss at the same time a red streak appeared and did the same, Ray grinned and said "Tired of me stealing the fun?"

Dante didn't reply and simply along with ray, slashed to the side, their combined attack cut the Abyss in half, causing it to dissipate in a red smoke which was new, usually Abyssals were able to escape back to the demon realm but in this case there was no time.

Ray and Dante stood back to back as more Abyssals appeared around them however their attention was focused on Emi instead of the far stronger opponents. Ray said "This is an assassination attempt, We need to cover Emilia." Dante nodded and said "Sure kid, we'll save your girlfriend." Ray wanted to snap at him but sighed as he was used to Dante's humor. He dashed to Emilia's side as at the same time she summoned better half, an Abyss almost sliced her in half with it's scythe, Ray said "Don't bother, Heros are what these things eat for breakfast, takes a demon to kill them." with those words a hailstorm of bullets killed the Abyss he was clashed with, Dante was using twosome time to provide support and have some fun with another dance parter in the form of a Hell Vanguard.

Ray sighed and swapped firearms, grabbing two .45 automatics, both silver plated, he didn't have a name for these guns, only White Eagle and any devil arms had the honor of getting such a name. Though occasionally he called the pair "Twin Suns" when someone asked what they were, Ray even used the name as a mental note when summoning them, unlike Dante Ray could summon and rescind his firearms like his Devil Arms, ordinarily Dante only did this with large caliber arms but perhaps that was a quirk Dante operated with rather than a lack of skill as skill was Dante's forte.

Ray slashed his sword back and charged it with energy, sending an overdrive, a move of demonically charged pulses in a combo of three that sped towards their target from a distance, this overdrive pushed back, but didn't kill his Abyssal foe. Emi seemed to recognize the pace of the fight and deflected an Abyssal's scythe that almost struct Ray.

Ray merely drew one of his Twin Suns and barraged it in the face, the sound of the gun firing point blank temporarily deafened Emi not to mention causing searing pain though she recalled similar pain just before Ray saved her, though that was from a concussion.

Ray smiled, enjoying the fight apparently as he said "Just like old times." Ray wasn't even paying attention to Dante anymore, just focused on finishing the demons that managed to get past him as Dante seemed to be having a hell of a time killing these bastards, a few even managed to slash him, meaning that he wasn't bored.

Ray noticed a stronger demonic aura approaching and deflected a conventional bullet with Hunter and turned to face a large armored demon with red eyes, it's armored hand was holding an old Colt Peacemaker though reloading seemingly wasn't necessary as demons can convert pure energy into solid projectiles.

Dante threw an abyssal at the larger demon who slashed the minion-turned-projectile in half with a large claymore sword and then pointed it at Emilia, saying "You are next Nephilim." Ray activated his Devil Trigger in full which shocked Emi for a moment as the last time she had seen this form, they were fighting eachother.

Ray dashed at the larger Demon and kicked the peacemaker out of it's hand whilst at the same time sending his sword in a spinning slash, turning him into a spinning metal coil by appearances which rapidly clashed against his opponent's Claymore sword until he broke it, that fact meant he wasn't facing a Devil Arm. The demon grinned and teleported out of sight with a slight black/red mist. Ray looked around, Emi almost didn't recognize him as his trenchcoat was slit and merged with his scaled armor though he left his Devil Trigger state and walked calmly towards her, Dante had killed the last of their attackers with a Dance Macabre.

Ray sighed and said "Well, glad that's over. Demons don't usually attack in force like this, at least not in ordinary places. They're up to something big." Dante nodded and said "Yeah, anything to do with this demon king perhaps?"

Emi was about to say something when Ray spoke ahead, saying "Most likely they see him as weak and want to depose him. I ran into him a few days ago, Hell he's my neighbor." Dante stared at him for a moment and said "Three Million dollars isn't incentive enough to kill someone you were at war with for three years?"

Ray shook his head and said "He's harmless right now, a small fry gives more of a fight. We should be focused on that bastard who attacked us. He is the exact same demon that sent me to Ente Isla four years ago." Emi shouted to interrupt, saying "Excuse me? When am I going to be able to speak here? I was the one attacked." Ray looked at her as if looking at a child and said "Emilia, everything you faced in Ente Isla is nothing compared to what is coming. No offense but that heightened speed, ability to fly and your celestial force aren't enough even if you had them in full, to face what's coming. Dante and I have been through worse though so you shouldn't feel threatened."

Dante shook his head, a move that surprised Ray as he said "No, I think this is different. Remember that girl we saved a few days ago? She was hiding something and I think the demons and youma aren't fighting eachother but rather gearing up for an alliance. That big demon we fought wasn't using devil arms either, normally they all have at least a sword or something if they look even remotely human. I'm gonna call the kid in on this one." Ray sighed and said "If you're getting serious then do you think Nero is up to this?"

Dante nodded and said "Believe it or not he's gotten better using Yamato now, had to work with him a while ago when some angel-hating witch attacked us." Ray scoffed for a moment and said "How'd that turn out?" Dante merely grinned and said "So, Emilia Justina was it? I'm Dante, I hunt demons for a living, and for kicks."

Emi stared at the silver-haired man in the red trenchcoat as he set Rebellion to rest on his back, he didn't look like the man Ray talked about so much, then again Ray looked human unless drawing on his power. She said "Nice to meet you. That other demon called me a Nephilim, aside from some fiction I don't know much about what that is." Dante was about to speak when Ray shot him a glance which seemed to say 'Shut up'. Ray reached into his pocket and pulled out a book, Journal was written on the cover in Ente Islan. Ray said "I shouldn't have kept this from you years ago. I thought you would react adversely to the information but I suppose I had no right. This is a journal your father wrote after the attack on your hometown. As far as I know, he's still alive."

No right indeed, Emi drove Better Half into Ray's shoulder and pulled it out quickly, Dante didn't interfere, merely laughed at the sight. Ray sighed as Emi took the book, she spoke, saying "You're right, you had no right to hold something like this back. Before I open this thing up, tell me what is so important in here that made you keep it a secret."

Ray's injury didn't even faze him, it had already healed as he said "Alright, your father's real name was actually Gerald and well, he was a demon, making you Half-Angel and Half Demon, not half human. A Nephilim." Emi stared at him silently as her phone rang, she looked at it and it was an alarm she had set reminding her to sleep (She set it specifically for tonight as she was worried she might get into a scuffle with Ray) She closed the phone after dismissing the alarm and said "I suppose I can understand a little how you may have thought that was too much information, something like this would send the church into a fury. But I'm able to handle it." her hand shook slightly which betrayed her words, Ray said "I know it troubles you more than you're letting on, If these demons are after you then they'll try again. I took the liberty of contacting someone to find your residence, that area hasn't had demon or youma incidents but still, I'd feel better if you had an escort home."

Emi looked at him for a moment before saying "Fine, if you're so concerned you can walk me home, but don't get any ideas." Ray stared for a moment before losing control, he laughed, laughed so damn hard even Dante was surprised, Emi seemed to understand it as she only grinned, Ray stopped laughing and said "Got accustomed to Earth pretty quick did you?" Emi replied "Only a few days here and I realized this was the world you talked about. Tall metal structures and people with no clue on magic."

Ray's sword seemed to absorb into him and a demonic summoning circle enveloped his Twin Suns, causing them to disappear, Dante merely concealed Ebony &amp; Ivory and summoned his guitar case, Rebellion fit in there pretty well as he closed it and slung it over his shoulder and waved once, walking off. The park was rather clean despite the battle that had taken place here. Ray said "We should get moving before someone comes to investigate all the gunfire that happened. I'm surprised nobody has yet." Emi nodded and the two walked off.

* * *

Next Day.

* * *

Ray woke up sluggishly, he had barely gotten home before sunrise and was still a bit tired, losing an arm after all was an exhausting experience even if it grew back.

He would have his Black Trenchcoat repaired later, he slipped on a brown leather bomber jacket and opened the door, the landlady, a rather large, though repelling individual by name of Miki Shiba (Who insisted on being called Mil-Kitty) was waiting on the other side with a serious face as she said "So, it seems you're a local resident after all." Ray made a waving motion with his hand and said "So what? I pay the rent. Besides, the only Nephilim I want to deal with right now is Emilia and you're not her."

Ray knew who this person was, before he was flung to Ente Isla, she was the person who hired him for a job before the main one. Miki Shiba, one of the few remaining Nephilim in this world, she was powerful indeed but up against Ray or Dante, she wasn't powerful enough.

Mil-Kitty said "You have no idea who tried to kill her, do you?" Ray's eyes shifted at her, as if begging her for an excuse to summon Hunter and send it through her heart, Ray said "If you know something, talk." Shiba replied "Recently Heaven and Hell have decided on an uneasy truce, one to rid Ente Isla and Earth of Nephilim. Me and my family haven't been discovered yet but they have uncovered Emilia's identity and in a cruel twist of fate, spellbound her father to do the job." Ray couldn't believe what he was hearing, the demon that led the attack last night was Gerald Justina? Ray knew that what the demons and the like about Ente Isla and Earth truly were. He considered "Heaven" on Ente Isla to be some in kind of extra-terrestrial and extra-dimensional alien force, he almost vomited at the thought of such a corrupt race being paradise.

Ray sighed and said "I'll let Dante know, he can break those kinds of things with Ebony &amp; Ivory." Shiba spoke again as Ray closed his door, saying "Be careful who you direct your feelings towards, such a relationship would have it's pains. What you've face so far is nothing to what will come.

She began to walk away, Ray sighed, she always could read another person's soul accurately.

Indeed his feelings towards Emilia were more than just friendship but even with recent events, it was more likely she still held some of a grudge against him. Ray did feel a bit of guilt in Bennie's death, he had given Olba the means to do it and frame him at the same time. The bigger question was though, Why did Gerald send him to Ente Isla in the first place? Why was he attacking Chiho those years ago? Perhaps he had appearances to keep up to avoid the other Inferni Demons from learning his secret but somehow they found out. Ray sighed as he locked his door and put his key safely in his pocket. He had made a decision, he would figure out what was going on even if it meant cracking down on some of the youma he tolerated years ago to gain information.

* * *

Nightfall, 8:35 PM, Red Light District

* * *

Ray walked into a questionable establishment, the music assaulted his ears, the stench of alcohol and demonic energy was abound. Youma liked to use places like this to sap human energy without being detected, Demons found sinners aplenty here and were most likely to attack places like this. Dante must have had the same idea as he was chatting up some waitress who was returning his supposed advances, he could sense the demonic energy in the woman but he saw a killing intent in Dante's eyes. Ray wanted information, not a couple red orbs.

Walking up and interceding on their conversation, Ray knew this demon, a good source of information provided she behaved herself. She looked in his direction and said "I'm following the rules." Ray sighed and said "Come on, you can't tell he's the son of Sparda?" The woman, whose name was Nanako, looked at Dante with a combination of hate and fear. Dante sighed and said "Trying to score here." Ray shrugged off the comment and said "She only hunts people who dabble into the dark arts, you probably give off a demonic aura but your human side means you can be misinterpreted as a sorcerer and not the legendary devil hunter. In the event, Nanako, I'm here for information on a demon named Gerald, may have fathered a Nephilim? Now trying to hack her in two?" Dante stared at Ray with disbelief. Ray continued to speak saying "And don't lie to me, I'm on the warpath right now. You know how I can get." his eyes flashed orange for a second which sent his message across, Nanako sighed and said "Fine, but this is big, second coming of Mundus big. He's found out about Emilia and he doesn't just want her dead, he wants her blood. Somehow it may be more than Dante's in level of power and may break the spell Dante used to keep him in his place." Dante said aloud "Son of a bitch." not many eyes looked at him, cursing was commonplace here.

Ray sighed, Mundus, the one who killed Dante's mother and father, the one who spellbound Vergil into becoming Nelo Angelo and created Trish to lure Dante into a trap several years ago. He was the one Dante wanted to kill the most and the one powerful enough to defy that. If he was making a move then every corner of hell was watching and waiting for the outcome, picking sides or staying neutral depending on whether or not the human realm would once again fall under demon rule.

Ray said "Any idea in how to break this spell?" Nanako sighed and said "This is only in the interest of self-preservation that I'm telling you this. You or Dante are powerless to free Gerald if you wished, only someone related to him can break the spell, meaning Emilia is the only one who can free him and she is nowhere near powerful enough to face a full fledged demon. Sure she could take me down but Gerald used to serve under Sparda's command and for a short time was one of his many apprentices."

Ray sighed and said "Dante, you know what this means right? I'd rather not have Emilia watch her father die knowing he can be saved. We're going to have to instruct Emilia on how to tap into her inner devil." Dante sighed and said "Sure, why not. While we're at it we can get her a real job. You told me she works as some customer service clerk or something. I'm sure she won't have a problem getting into the devil hunting business." Ray sighed and said "Fine, but you're buying the trenchcoat if she wants to join the devil may cry team." Dante sighs and says "It's not mandatory ya'know. In all truth I gave you my spare because you won it in a bet." Ray sighed and replied "Dante, if you tried blackjack at any casino you'd end up flat broke, more than you are now." Nanako sighed and said "Also, when you decide who to look at, remember what I've done for you." Nanako walked off to service other customers and Dante looked at Ray suspiciously, Ray sighed and said "That demon seems to have her eye on me for some reason, it's unwanted attention on my part. Let's get the hell out of here, I got more places I need to milk for information, if what she said is true, they'll say the same thing more or less." Dante shrugs and says "Knock yourself out kid, I'm gonna stay and have a little fun."

Ray looked at Dante and sighed, saying "Just leave Nanako alone, she's my version of a Confidential Informant, sometimes you need to have friends in low places to get information."

Dante nodded and said "I wont kill her but, ah, you can put the rest together." Ray shook his head and walked out, he hated places like this but sadly it was a necessity in order to go to them to get information.

* * *

Three Days later.

* * *

Ray tapped his foot, waiting outside the MgRonalds that Maou worked at and sure enough the demon king walked out, Chiho was leaving too and was nearby, Ray looked at her and couldn't believe his eyes, she was also a bit surprised.

Maou said "Oh, you. What do you want?" Ray said "It involves business. Nice to see you again kid." Chiho replied "Sure, I never got the chance to thank you for fighting off that creep." He shrugged and said "Just doing God's work." She smiled and walked off, Maou asked "You know Chiho?"

Ray nodded and said "Yeah, she thinks I fought off a stalker with ill intent, in reality it was a demon bent on killing her. Though the identity of that demon has recently become aware to me. We need to talk about Emi." Maou sighed and said "What about." Ray replied "Well for starters, she's a Nephilim, and she's got the wrong attention going after her. I don't mean the church of Ente Isla or those pretenders but we got ambushed by at least 100 Abyssal Demons, ya'know, Inferni Breed?" Maou stared at him in disbelief, he thought Inferni were only a legend, a myth, a tale to scare young dark recruits into following orders. He spoke, saying "And let me guess, you want me to see if I can tell them to back off?" Ray shrugged and said "No, this involves someone far stronger than you could ever be, Mundus, the king of hell regarding Inferni Demons. Even Dante couldn't kill the son of a bitch, though he's about to get a second chance. Emilia's father is still alive, what's worse is that he's the demon heritage for her and the others found out about him, he's spellbound to kill her. Cruel twist of fate if you ask me but Inferni are saps for poetic executions."

Maou sighed and said "Well I don't have enough magic to even take on a weak demon right now so I can't help you." Ray shook his head and said "Oh yes you can. What if I said I could bring you some support from your Ente Islan demons. I don't draw magic from despair or celestial force and thus I can open gates at will. I know you seem to be adjusting to life in Tokyo in a human fashion and well, I care about Emi, I don't want to see her die or force her to watch her father die when he can be saved." Maou nodded and said "You were in Ente Isla for a year after I came here, how organized are the demons there?" Ray shook his head and said "They left token garrisons and retreated to Infernum to join forces with the various Inferni Generals there but following an incident in Fortuna a year before I got back They formed their own forces and are trying to stay out of the way. Contacting those outposts in Ente Isla will be easy and theres still plenty of despair in Ente Isla to charge you to full almost instantly. But if you don't come back and honor this deal, I'll kill you."

Maou stared at him for a moment in fear and shock but then nodded and said "Funny thing that I've only just noticed, Emi isn't the kind of person I thought she would be. I thought she was a Church Fanatic for a while but after seeing her here in Earth, well, I wouldn't call us friends but." Ray grinned and said 'Fine, friendly rivals it is. Just go and retrieve something called the Key of Minerva, it's supposedly an artifact Ente Islan Demons brought from Earth many years ago that can unlock the full potential of a Nephilim. I intend to awaken Emi's true potential." Maou sighed and said "I know exactly what you're talking about but it's in my old castle, likely the humans took it if it's not there. I got a job to keep so contact me on the weekend." Ray grinned and said "Fine, in the meantime I'll help Emi the old fashioned way." Ray walked off as Maou sighed, it was an opportunity to return to Ente Isla but even if he did so, he was to get something, go back, or be hunted by someone potentially stronger than him.

Ray had one more contact to get in touch with, this one would be tricky as he wanted to be left alone most of the time but still, he owed Ray a favor.

* * *

The Next Day.

* * *

Ray looked at the form of a drunken old man drinking his life away in some small-district bar. The sight of Ray seemingly sobered him up instantly as he said "I been keeping our deal." in English. Ray sighed and said "Thought you should know Mundus is making another move, he's itching to get a taste of a Nephilim's blood this time." The old man sighed and said "Ah, king of hell working on some grand scheme to rule the human world again. Never gets old. Let me guess, that Redhead who came from Ente Isla a year back." Ray nodded and said "Good to know you're keeping an eye on things. That item I asked you to keep, that sword that the Son of Sparda's fake used. I need it or rather, the girl needs it." His name was Kraine (Pronounced Crane) and he was a famous demon who was among the elite few who could craft devil arms not only of high quality, but adjust them to combat Angel weapons and armor. In fact he was the one who crafted Rebellion on Sparda's request. Kraine sighed and said "You said I could use it for whatever I wanted, but seeing as I used it to build a new weapon, I suppose you're asking for that weapon. I call it Reclaimer, good and well balanced Bastard Sword with a bat like handle. I used the duplicate Rebellion to allow it to filter through both demonic and angelic energies, perfect weapon for a Nephelim like your friend."

Ray nodded and said "Much appreciated, I'm not leaving you out to dry here though, How would you like to move to Ente Isla?" Kraine looked at Ray and said "Ah, I heard their king went soft and mushy, and that he's stuck here on Earth. Keep the sword, I owe you a favor anyway for keeping my existence a secret from Nanako, speaking of Nanako, how is she doing?" Ray sighed and said "Still on my watch list, though at the same time I think she's developed an interest in me, one that I do not return." Kraine laughed a bit and said "Figures, she always was people at least 100 years younger." Ray ignored the statement as Kraine summoned Reclaimer, it was a well crafted Bastard Sword in outward design, the grip was smooth and the hilt was similar in design to rebellion with two bone-like spikes protruding out from a skull in the center only there was also an engraving of a halo over the skull, signifying both Demon and Angel merged as one entity. Ray grabbed the weapon and absorbed it, saying "Thanks, We're even now." Kraine nodded and resumed his drinking, he intentionally lowered his alcohol tolerance (Which for a demon is at insane levels) so he could experience the feeling it caused.

* * *

The following day.

* * *

Ray sighed as he waited at the train station and Emi tapped him on the shoulder from behind, saying "That's twice I've snuck up on you." Ray turned suddenly and sighed again, saying "Yeah, yeah. I suppose you've had more than enough time to read through that book." Emi's eyes gave a slight distressed look as she said "Yeah, more than just that specific entry but the rest of it. It's just a lot to take in. More importantly though, what did you want to meet about."

Ray said "I've got another bombshell for you, that and me and Dante are going to take turns instructing you on how to face Inferni and more specifically, tap into your own inner devil." Emi sighed and said "Why should I learn to do that?" Ray replied "Because you rely too much on Celestial Force, It's kept you weak compared to me and Dante. The demon who ordered all this is Mundus, he once ruled over Earth with an Iron Fist until Sparda, Dante's father, rose up in rebellion with other likeminded demons who grew attached to humanity and they fought him to the point of defeat, Sparda wasn't able to kill Mundus because of his sheer power and he was forced to seal him instead. Mundus believes your blood can undo his seal. This guy is no joke Emi, he can control reality around him and as far as I know only Dante and Sparda have faced him in battle and lived."

Emi stared at Ray for a moment, Demons known as Abyssals pushed Ray and Dante to a serious fighting stance but from what Ray had just said, they were small fry." Emi spoke, saying "What of the one who led that incident?" Ray sighed and said "I'll explain later. In your free time from work we'll be heading to some small shrine nobody goes to along with Dante and we'll train you. I've also got you a gift, a devil arm designed to work in tandem with both Angel and Demon abilities so it'll be perfect for you. Better Half is merely an Angel Weapon and you'd be better off with a dual-purpose armenant like the one I've procured. I'm also going to train you in firearms." Emi sighed and said "And once this blows over, once we finish this crisis, what then?" Ray replied "Then we can live normal lives hopefully. I've already enlisted Maou's help, he's brought back an artifact from Ente Isla that I gave to Dante for safekeeping." Emi stares at him for a moment before saying "Wait, you let Maou go back to Ente Isla, and he actually came back?" Ray nodded and said "Well perhaps threatening to hunt him down if he didn't return had a play in his return but more or less, yeah, he was lucky and it was where he left it before, the Church doesn't even keep a garrison in his old castle. I think he brought back some of his old things too."

Emi shook her head slightly and said "I guess he's changed. I'll learn what you have to teach but only under one condition." Ray nodded and said "Name it."

Emi spoke, her words shocked Ray as she said "Once you've taught me all you can, I want a serious duel between us. Not so much for the past, I believe you now, I should have earlier. But I still feel angry that you kept that book from me. I don't mean a duel to the death, but I don't want anything held back." Ray stared at her for a moment before nodding and saying "Alright, I agree to those terms. May be a good idea. A lot of people in this world have forgotten how two opposing swords can bridge their owners more than any amount of words." Emi nodded and began to walk away. Ray just had one more visit to accomplish before he and Dante were ready to instruct Emilia.

He had to make sure of heaven's intentions and that meant the manager at the SFC near Maou's workplace.

* * *

Ray waited outside the SFC and a small heighted individual with light purple hair walked out, immediately noticing Ray and saying "Ah, what brings you to this place?" Ray replied coldly "I know about the stunt you pulled a few months ago. I'm just here to let you know soon you'll have no power over her. I imagine you are aware of the plans the Inferni have made?" Sariel was his name though in Japan he used the alias Sarue.

Sarue replied "We are aware. It is only a matter of time before the 'mistake' is dealt with. I do not believe you have the power to stop what is coming." Ray grins and says "You were not counting on the Son of Sparda intervening were you? Make a move if you wish, we'll just slay the angels that try to attack Emi like demons."

Sarue felt a bit of fear as Dante's title was mentioned. Be it Angel or Demon, Dante is more than capable of slaying them. Sarue spoke, trying to regain his composure, saying "For once there seems to be a common goal for heaven and hell. You would be facing both sides, caught between just for one woman. Is it really worth it. I'm told that you lost an arm protecting her."

Ray sighed and said, in Ente Islan "Wouldn't be the first time. I'll kill you if I ever see you approach Emilia. She is most definitely worth getting caught between Heaven and Hell. Need I remind you also that she wields the power of both said groups. I have other allies among the Inferni as well and trust me when I say, you can't succeed. If I have to go down to the pits of hell and to the highest pedestals of Heaven to slay those would seek to harm Emilia, you can better damn well believe I won't be alone." He said one more thing before walking off.

"Terra Firma."

That phrase spoke his intentions loud and clear, Sarue grinned at the prospect that Emilia had no idea who her friend was in reality. He wasn't a philanthropist or a Hero, he was a reincarnation of a figure in human history that Sarue had read about since his arrival, several in fact. Perhaps he had much in common with Napoleon and other great generals and manipulators, he saw Earth's importance ahead of the other worlds, ahead of Infernum, ahead of Ente Isla, ahead of Paradiso and ahead of Heaven and Hell.

* * *

Later that night.

* * *

Ray stood over a shrine, he knew it's importance, it was shrined here because this was the place where the Youma decided to leave the rest of the Demons and lay a claim to Earth after Mundus' rule collapsed.

Dante set a cooler down on the grass and opened it up, taking out a beer as he said "You give the first lesson, she's your friend afterall." Emi looked at Ray for a moment before he summoned Reclaimer and tossed it at her, She grabbed it and felt it attune to her, it absorbed into her for a moment before reappearing in her hand, Emi wasn't used to heavy weapons and seemed to be unable to hold it with only one hand, something Ray and Dante could do easily with otherwise two-handed weapons.

Ray summoned Hunter in his right hand and said "The first lesson is a spar, I need to get a grasp on your abilities. I already know them to an extent but I need to push you past your limit, Abyssals and other demons will simply kill you where you stand if you get in a fight with them right now. Also to fully awaken your abilities you'll have to do something unpleasant." Emi replied "What would that be?" Dante interrupted, saying "You have to get stabbed in the chest by your own sword."

Emi stared at Dante then back at Ray, unpleasant was putting it lightly but the two had serious faces, this wasn't a joke. Emi nodded and said "I'd probably die." Ray shook his head and said "Any other weapon or the one I gave you, yes, but once we awaken your inner devil a devil arm unique to yourself will form, you'll be able to withstand greater punishment and your devil arm, once fully attuned with your blood, will become your strongest weapon."

Ray positioned himself into a basic combat stance and said "I'm going to come at you hard and fast, always staying a step or two ahead of you, once you're pushed to the edge your power should awaken."

Ray didn't give any more warning, immediately dashing and sending his sword forward at Emi who barely evaded the attack, a step or two ahead was not a joke. It also reminded her that he had held back that day years ago, he could easily have killed her back then but chose not to.

Emi swung Reclaimer and began to get accustomed to the weapon's weight as Ray easily parried and evaded strikes, the two seemed to be master swordsmen from an outside perspective but to the eyes of Dante who was observing the spar, Ray clearly was more experienced in swordsmanship than Emi or at the least Emi was used to quick and decisive battles, a fight against an inferni demon however can become drawn out, lasting minutes depending on the skill of your opponent.

Ray stepped up his game as Emilia began to use her new weapon one-handedly and sent himself into a Steel Coil, a move he used before against Gerald (Though he had yet to tell Emi that her assailant was her own father) the night they were attacked. Ray spun with his blade in one hand and a blade of pure energy in his other, bright red and of pure demonic power, spiraling to hit his target several times in a row. The weak Nephilim Dante faced once before had a similar one-sword variant called Death Coil (A name Dante disliked as it was too brash and forward, he preferred poetic or regal names for his techniques)

Emi held her blade sideways to withstand the attack but Ray seemed serious when he said he was going to push her limits as he quickly darted back using the impact from his final strike and sent a stinger from the side, Emi evaded it partially but a wide gash went past her back as a result, bleeding profusely which caused her to stagger back a bit. Ray said "I'm sorry but you have to be in a real fight in order to awaken your demon side. Your angel side is suppressing it and the only way to wittle that down is blood loss. Don't worry though, I have no intention of killing you."

Emi nodded and ignored the pain, absorbing her sword and summoning Better Half and sent herself in a move paralleling Dante and Ray's stinger attacks.

Ray parried the strike easily and twirled in a single spin, slicing clean through Better Half with Hunter like a hot knife through butter, shocking Emilia to a large extent as it was supposed to be an Angelic Weapon, but it seems Hunter was more well constructed in addition to Ray's skill with the devil arm.

Dante watched as Ray slowed his pace down so as to not hurt Emi too much but in all honesty, Dante was getting bored, he chucked the now-empty beer can sky high (It would later land in a trash can 32 miles away) and summoned Rebellion which fell from the sky instead of appearing in his hand.

Dante sent a stinger forward, slicing a flesh wound on Emi's left shoulder, the sudden attack surprised Ray a bit but it got the reaction they wanted to draw out.

There was just one problem, she was not in control of herself as her Nephilim Weapon formed, similar in design to Alastor, one of Dante's devil arms he acquired when taking on Mundus. Emi's eyes shifted red and bright, her hair turned snow white and a purple aura both demonic and angelic burst from her like fire. She flickered behind Dante and spun far faster than Ray had before, a move Dante decided to coin Roulette Spin as he executed a Royal Guard stance, withstanding the attack at first only for him to have underestimated what they had awoken as his red sphere shattered and he quickly switched to trickster and dashed back to avoid a blow which would have slashed him in half. Even for the Son of Sparda, that would have been fatal. Ray noticed that Emi was in some in kind of berserker state and activated a partial devil trigger, transforming his right arm into a black scaled demon arm which held Hunter.

Ray shapeshifted Hunter into a different form, that of a Katana he called Predator.

Sending pressure waves with Predator to specifically disarm Emi of her weapon she flickered into the air and almost instantly white wings manifested from her back, no blood was dropping down which led Ray to assume her injuries were healed. Ray entered a full Devil Trigger as Dante said "Hey kid, I think she's lost it, means we gotta do this the hard way."

Ray sighed and said "Yeah, go devil, she's not fooling around in this state, I bet she's a prisoner of her own body right now, we need to calm her down so instinct decreases and her consciousness comes back to the surface." Dante nods and enters a devil trigger state as Emi appears behind him almost instantly and roundhouses Dante who as he is flying, drives rebellion into the ground, uses it to spin about and propels himself back at Emi as Ray dashes and grabs Rebellion from the ground and throws it in the same direction.

Emi evades Dante but Rebellion slices through one of her white wings and as it reaches Dante he grabs it and turns to face her. Ray reshifts Predator into Hunter and rests it on his back, charging at Emilia unarmed as she immediately turns and forms a ball of purple energy, discharging a barrage of shots which Ray barely evades. Ray at the moment feels glad they picked an out-of-the-way spot as he summons a demonic designed crossbow and fires several blue energy bolts at Emi who evades them. Dante reshapes Rebellion into Nevan and sends a barrage of lightning charged swarms of bats which manage to hit Emi, the electricity stunning her as Ray lands and fires a single blue bolt from his crossbow (A weapon known as Deception) which hits the stunned Emi, causing a torrent of blue energy to erupt and incapacitate Emi though it doesn't seem to have injured her.

Dante sighed and said as he returned to normal form, saying "I didn't know demons made non-lethal weapons." Ray also returned to human form and absorbed Deception and as he walked towards Emi he said "I know someone who can craft Devil Arms with high levels of quality, I acquired this weapon a few months before I was chucked away to Ente Isla."

Dante sighed and went back to the cooler he set on the ground only to realize it was vaporized by Emi's attack earlier, prompting a second sigh.

Ray bent over Emi whose wings had retracted and she seemed unconscious. Ray simply poked her cheek and she woke up, startled but no longer out of control, her eyes were still red though her Hair had returned to it's natural red color, a few moments later and her eyes returned to their usual emerald color.

Ray got up and reached out his hand which she grabbed and got up, saying "What happened?" Ray replied "Long story short, your power woke up entirely, not partially and you lost control, you tried to kill us." Emi rubbed her head as a headache started to hit, she said "I suppose that's all the training for today?"

Ray nodded and said "Yeah, we'll see if you retained anything from before next week, in the meantime it's business as usual."

Emi was about to reply when her stomach started to growl, awakening her Nephilim abilities seem to have made her hungry as she grabbed her stomach with a slightly pained face, saying "I suppose food before sleep would be better."

Dante walked over, saying "Well you blew up my cooler so I pick the place."

Ray replied "Let me guess, a Pizza place?" Dante nodded and said "This was your idea Ray, you're buying." Ray sighed and nodded, reasoning with Dante on where to get food was impossible, once he had his eyes set on a big slice of pizza, there was no stopping him.

Ray then said "Just to remind you, not many pizza joints in this area." Dante shrugged and replied "I know of a few, found them while you were gathering information about our attacker." Ray was about to start walking when Emi interrupted him, saying "Speaking of the demon who attacked us the other night, who was he?" Ray sighed and replied "Apparently your secret is out, the Inferni demons spellbound your father to force him to kill you. The demon that attacked us the other night was him." Emilia stared at Ray in disbelief, unsure of what to say, if she could say anything at all regarding this information. She silently complied with just finding a pizza place for sustenance and her silence unnerved Ray but still, he knew she was strong-willed and if anything else, she would be committed to freeing her father from the spellbind placed on him.

* * *

To be continued...


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Practice and Experience.

"Apathy is death."

* * *

Chapter Foreword:

Anyone who has read Devil May Cry:Rise of Kylanos and this fic will likely have noticed Ray's abilities and weapons are the same or named differently (Such as Steel Coil being Roulette Spin in DMC:RoK.)

The final chapter of DMC:RoK explains Ray's abilities further in regards to style based attacks. To answer any unspoken questions, this fic and RoK are NOT in the same universe/timeline and thus the character's backstory is different.

* * *

Sasukuza, Modern Day

* * *

Ray stared at the newspaper article about an escaped prisoner guilty of several counts of armed robbery, the spitting image of Olba Meyer in the photo given meant that Olba had again escaped custody. This was his chance, Olba would not escape him the law again because the law will not be the one to catch him.

Ray kept in mind that the weekends are for training Emilia, so far she has been eerily silent since her awakening though it had only awakened her abilities to a certain extent since her native weapon has yet to awaken, she used only Reclaimer when she lost control. Ray had free time as unlike Emi he did not have a day-to-day job, instead he could be considered a hitman by comparison, he just went after demons and youma, not humans, such is the life of a Devil Hunter.

But Olba was a known murderer and is an active threat to Emi at present (since she is not in full control of her Nephilim abilities yet) and needs to be dealt with. The man can use magic and probably has been conserving his Celestial Force in order to return to Ente Isla and if he hasn't already done so, he will regret not running away. As far as Ray is concerned, Olba is as good as dead.

* * *

POV Shift - Nero, Fortuna City.

* * *

"No." said Nero who was looking at Dante who had made a quick trip to Fortuna, Dante replied "What'ya mean no? This is big Nero, I've told you about Mundus before and if he's really planning to come back then we have to take this seriously. This isn't some small fry, this is the Emperor of Demonkind, Old Man Sanctus and the Savior were nothing compared to Mundus. Like it or not this does affect you, if he's coming back then everyone is in danger, He's not gonna settle for small real estate deals or the banking industry, he's going to literally raise hell on Earth." Nero nodded and replied "I understand that, but there's still a heavy demon presence in Fortuna, I've been doing my best and I even took in some of the members of the order of the sword who like me were kept in the dark. They still are nowhere near my level of swordsmanship and furthermore they're only human, if Assaults or Fausts start coming out of hiding then they'll be slaughtered. We both know the only thing keeping Kyrie safe right now is my constant presence."

Dante sighed and said "Then take her with you, call it a vacation or even a Honeymoon. Japan isn't that bad and there aren't constant demon attacks except around Ray's friend."

Nero shook his head and said "Dante, this sounds out of my league. I have improved with Yamato yes but I'm not so cocky as to take a bite out of the demon emperor when it isn't necessary. When you actually start having problems then give me a call and I'll head to Japan but until then you got Ray to help you out. This isn't like you Dante, you're not one to ask for help for anything that isn't related to Pizza, Strawberry Sundaes or your limitless debt."

Dante shrugs and says "It's not that I need help, it's that I don't want to leave anything to chance. Besides I thought you needed some serious work. I got a job paying 3 Mill and I'm willing to give ya half a mill for your help."

Nero stares at him for a moment before saying "Half?" Dante sighs and says "Even if I wanted to go bigger with you, I can't because I'm supposed to give half of the job pay to Ray which is 1.5 million. Though we may end up not getting paid since I've been doing some digging on our target, turns out he isn't such a bad guy and he's just trying to live a normal life. That and the person who hired us is giving off some strange aura, Ray hasn't met the guy yet but I don't think he'll like him, gets preachy occasionally."

Nero replies "So basically your not really gonna get paid. Look Dante, I said I'll help when you need it but right now theres too much going on. Can't you call Trish or Lady for help?"

Dante sighs and says "Trish is busy on some other job and Lady would just add to my debt. Besides Lady is just a human, an expert in firearms and explosives but still, against the Demon Emperor she would just be a fly to swat, she's good but not that good."

Nero replied "Call me when you really need me. Until then I'm staying put. I'll lend you Yamato if you need it since all I have to deal with right now are lesser demons. Just be sure to give it back when you kill Mundus or seal him again, whichever happens."

Dante sighed and said "Fine, we'll do it your way."

With those words Nero summoned Yamato in it's sheath and handed it to Dante, though Nero needed Yamato for any real threat, all the real threats like Sanctus weren't in Fortuna and thus he didn't have to worry about them yet. Red Queen would be sufficient for the Scarecrows, Assaults and other demons that lurked around and Blue Rose was enough for any Mephisto and Fausts (Along with his Devil Bringer).

* * *

Sasukuza, the next day. POV Shift - Ray Zenji

* * *

Ray was now in his black trenchcoat once more, having repaired the damage caused by the Abyssals.

Keeping an ear to the ground Ray was also close by Emi's workplace, figuring Olba's course of action would be to seek her out and kill her as quickly as possible.

Sitting on a bench with a cup of coffee was a good way to pass the time until Emi left her workplace, she noticed Ray but didn't approach, instead heading home. Ray felt no odd energies about and could only assume Olba was not here on earth anymore, having left for Ente Isla.

* * *

Saturday Night, 9:35 PM

* * *

Ray was spinning some large silver key that had a sword like design to it along with wing designs on it, the center of the key had a perfect circle.

It was the Key of Minerva, Dante had given it back since he had made a quick visit to Nero and returned with Yamato as support, Nero himself would likely only take direct action if either the demon problem in Fortuna was solved or if it became painfully obvious that Dante actually needed help.

Not that Ray was concerned as once Emilia is properly trained she would be able to handle any demons or angels sent at her.

Dante was sitting on a folding chair next to another cooler he had gotten after the first one's unexpected demise (Resulting in Ray having to buy Dante two extra large supreme pizzas.) with a pizza in one hand, a beer in the other.

Emilia had just arrived, dressed in a blue jacket with a pink t-shirt under it as well as blue jeans.

Ray took a look at her attire and shook his head slightly, saying "I hope all that isn't new, demons have a habit of slashing through most attire and since this will be proper training."

Emi interrupted him by summoning what appeared to be plate armor about her, different than the armor she wore in Ente Isla because this armor, like better half, was generated by her abilities instead of being made by blacksmiths. Emi spoke, saying "I figured out a few new tricks ever since the first training session, this armor isn't the only thing either."

Ray rose an eyebrow as Emi formed a sword in her hand, it was definitely Better-Half but much larger in scale, a greatsword in comparison, similar in scale to Rebellion. It was a single edged blade like Nero's Red Queen, the handle golden and back of the blade was different than the large version of Better Half Ray knew from their fights together in Ente Isla. The back part of the blade was pitch black much like the handle of Rebellion and seamless as well. The length of the blade was more or less the same as Rebellion. The key part here is that the blade seemed to radiate different energies than last time, instead of only emanating celestial force the weapon had no trace of Celestial Force whatsoever, having a mixed feel of demonic and angelic weapons (Meaning Sariel's ability to nullify celestial force would be useless against this version of better half).

Ray now realized why a Devil Arm or Angel Arm didn't form for Emilia, because Better Half was already that weapon and once her potential awakened it changed shape, form and caliber. Ray tossed the Key of Minerva at Emi who caught it and looked at it in curiosity for a second before it absorbed into her hand on it's own.

Better Half changed as a rift of purple energy made itself present from Emilia only this time she was in control of herself.

The sword now was double-edged like Rebellion, a black grip along with a silver skull &amp; golden halo pattern just below the start of the blade, feathered wing patterns made the hilt and were of bright silver color, much like Dante's Ivory handgun. The Blade itself was silver on the left edge and black on the right edge, signifying the weapon was both an Angel Arm and a Devil Arm at the same time.

Ray's rose an eyebrow and grinned, saying "Well, looks like your true potential has been unlocked. I'm going to keep pace with you this time, when you show improvement I'll increase the level of difficulty to keep you on your toes. We'll stick to swordplay here but once I think you're disciplined enough you're going to learn how to use firearms against demons. It's not a simple point and shoot game with demons because of their heightened agility and senses, it's a matter of using your own secondary senses to aim and fire, not relying only on sight."

Emi replied "I don't feel comfortable with that. I can access Better Half anytime and not worry about someone finding it or setting off a metal detector, firearms however aren't like that." Ray shook his head and said "No they are, you have to learn to link items to your powers so you can both summon and conceal them magically and maintain fire without needing to reload. It actually comes second-nature once you learn to control your flow of energy, most of the time. If I need to give you a detailed explanation then I will but until then I'll assume that might not be necessary."

Emi nodded and took a simple combat stance whilst Ray remained relaxed as Hunter formed on his back and said "When fighting demons you need to balance agility with reflexes, it isn't about defensive stances solely like with Ente Islan demons or humans. As we fight you'll see that staying in the same spot can mean death or a really nasty injury at the least."

Ray decided to get serious to an extent and said "Bladedancer.", causing a shift in the flow of his demonic powers which Emi was able to notice, his muscles and veins were now charged heavily with demonic energy but at the same time the flow was persistent and stable, as if it were natural.

Ray ran forward, sending a three way slash combo with Hunter mirroring Dante's Rebellion A Combo's first two attacks but continued with several follow-up slashes (A 360 degree rotating slash followed by an upper slash and ending with a powerful thrust mirroring the form of a stinger but not propelling himself forward like a missile, more like the ending strike from a million stabs) Ray mentally coined this as Hunter A+ (With the conventional 3 way slash remembered as Hunter A) and it was unique to the Bladedancer style which was something he picked up from a God of Time Statue.

Emi barely evaded the attacks, her magically constructed armor unnaturally light for it's appearance and hence giving her freedom of movement and defensive options. Emi returned with a four way slash with Better Half, having seemingly practiced with using a large sword one-handed or having remembered her berserker state's actions. Ray immediately entered a defensive posture and parried the blows and almost immediately after the final parry he retaliated with a conventional 3 way slash (Hunter A) which caught Emi and sent her back considerably, her armor having reduced the impact but still the blade had pierced it though the damaged part of the armor began to repair itself almost immediately, that being said demons, angels and Nephilim only become vulnerable after taking ungodly amounts of injury to the point that their wounds heal slower until they don't heal after a final strike.

Ray seemed to be enjoying the spar as he taunted Emi, making a "Come and get me" gesture though he didn't say anything. Emi's left eye twitched at the taunt and she immediately sent herself with Better Half forward in a stinger which Ray parried by switching to his defensive state and then swiftly sent a stinger back in retaliation, sending Emi flying a short distance and landing on her back though she quickly recovered as Ray shouted "Vanguard!" and air tricked behind Emi, sending a Helm Breaker (A downward slash from an aerial position which also magically accelerates you downward before or during gravity's decision to take effect, a move Dante uses often.) at her which sent her back a bit, she noticed her armor repairing itself and even felt whatever injuries made it through the armor healing as well, never before has she felt this invigorated by a fight, the feeling of the injury happening, then healing was somewhat euphoric as much as it was painful though also annoying to a degree in that it dulled her senses temporarily.

Emi's facial expression changed, she felt an uncontrollable urge to smirk as her hair turned snow white and her eyes turned glowing red, Ray returned with a grin of his own and switched to Bladedancer. Dante could tell what was happening just by watching, Ray and Emi were going to have that spar here and now.

Emi spoke, saying "About that promise. How about we just go all out right now." Ray nodded and said "Try to keep up."

Both sent stingers at eachother at the same time, the two opposing swords parried eachother as a result and Ray quickly followed up with a Hunter A+ Combo which Emi interrupted after the second strike with a parry and sent a single strong forward counter-slash which Ray quickly switched to Vanguard and dashed to the side much like Dante's trickster styled dashes to avoid the attack. Ray dashed back to gain distance which prompted Emi to mimic his taunt from before which prompted Ray to hold Hunter in reverse hold, charging energy through it which prompted Dante to kick his cooler out of harms way and move over with the chair as well.

As Ray's sword pulsed a second time he slashed the air, sending a white/red pulse of energy forward and followed up with two more Drives, making an Overdrive which Emi almost instantly formed white wings and took to the skies to evade though Ray shouted "Skirmisher!" and again charged Hunter with energy and sent a Drive at Emi who was in the air, Ray followed up with one slash after the other, a total of five Drives (Including the first Drive attack) which Emi managed to evade by flying in one direction rapidly and as she circled around she flapped the wings once more with a high degree of strength, sending her in a powerful forward airborne stinger attack with Better Half which Ray rolled to the side to evade, barely.

Dante cracked open another can of beer as he watched the two duel and exchange sword strikes. He could tell Ray was still holding back in terms of speed and seriousness whilst Emi was observing his moves and looking for means to replicate them as she sent a single Drive from the air at Ray who was in Vanguard to dash out of the way. A dark and foreboding feeling suddenly hit all three which prompted Dante to set the beer can down with a sigh, grabbing Rebellion from his back whilst Emi landed and Ray drew White Eagle.

A large summoning circle appeared before the three which revealed several Hell Prides, Hell Lusts, Hell Sloths and Abyss Demons along with the demon that attacked them before, Gerald Justina.

Emi stared at the demonic image of her father, shouting "I know it's you! Snap out of it!"

Gerald formed a double edged longsword about the same length as Rebellion and with a simple black grip though the hilt was designed like Alastor, with bat wings protruding out the sides though instead of the image of a bat spitting out the blade it was more like Rebellion with a spire of bone like designs below the blade.

His red eyes briefly turned yellow and he seemed confused though had no physical control over his body, he was able to speak and he did, saying "Emilia? How..."

Emilia felt tears roll down her eyes as Ray spoke, saying "It doesn't seem like you're fighting back on your own. I assume whoever spellbound you is letting you see what is going on around you as some sick form of punishment."

Gerald was about to reply when his body moved on it's own, pointing his sword forward as if ordering the demon horde around him to attack and they indeed charged towards Emilia and Ray whilst golden summoning circles started appearing mid-air, spawning white winged creatures with bird like features and bladed staffs similar in design to the Papal Staff. Ray was the only one to recognize them, Affinity Angels, they were of Paradiso, not of Ente Isla which meant Sariel must have made arrangements with the Paradiso Angels here.

Other blue summoning circles appeared as well, more human looking individuals with rapier swords and shields of similar design to an Alto Angelo's shield (Armor of the Order of the Sword that were brought to life and inhabited by easily controlled demons though these types were no longer in existence as Nero had slain the last and Agnus was dead, but still the design of the shield, like two enclosed white eagle wings. The faces of these particular angels were varied as if they were human, meaning they were the same angel breed as Sariel, Ente Islan Angels.

Ray grinned and said "Well, this will be interesting, Heaven, Infernum and Paradiso all in one place."

Emi didn't speak, only charging Better Half and sending a Drive at a Hell Lust that attempted to charge at her with it's scythe. Dante began barraging an Affinity with Ebony &amp; Ivory in a Honeycomb Fire attack, big grin on his face as it had not been since the incident with that Umbran Witch that he had faced an Angel and there was some kind of primal hatred between Inferni Demons and Paradiso Angels which meant more or less Dante enjoyed killing Paradiso Angels more than he enjoyed killing Demons.

Ray opened fire with White Eagle and grabbed one of his Twin Suns and threw it at Emi, saying "It's already tuned for sustained fire, might as well practice now."

Emi didn't reply, grabbing the firearm and fired once, unaccustomed to the recoil she was staggered slightly as a Hell Sloth disappeared and reappeared behind her, Ray blasted dozens of rounds in the very second it appeared with White Eagle at it's head, killing it before it could complete the slash.

Emilia held the gun tighter and adjusted her grip and position and fired again, no longer unaccustomed to the recoil though her rate of fire was average (A human rate) and her accuracy not perfect like Ray and Dante's accuracy though still the sheer number of demons and angels meant a missed shot only hit a different target.

Ray switched to Skirmisher and White Eagle's shots became naturally charged with demonic energy in the form of red electricity, each shot left a trail of red lightning similar to how Dante's shots are followed by purple lightning whenever he has Alastor in hand and is in a Devil Trigger state.

An Angel appeared behind Emilia in a white air trick like maneuver and shouted "Die Abomination!" as he was about to send a piercing stab only for Emilia to quickly evade and then execute a Roulette Spin with Better Half in one hand and a purple energy sword mimicking the shape and form of better half in the other, the spinning attack tore the angel to pieces, sending blood across the field which seemingly ignited into steam which flowed into Emilia's hands and sword. (Demon Blood crystalized into red orbs and then sped towards the victor and absorbed into them like storing a devil arm, sometimes they would crystalize into white or green orbs which replenished magic and health respectively. Angel Blood seems to burn and radiate to the victory whilst Paradiso Angels release halo like objects which are somehow similar to Red Orbs.)

Ray unleashed a Dance Macabre mimicry on a Abyssal (Dance Macabre being a move Dante uses in Swordmaster Style, there are two variants though Dante and Ray mostly use the 2nd Variant which starts with a headbutt, a three slash combo (Rebellion A or Hunter A), a five slash combo following up (Rebellion B) which involves a single forward diagonal slash followed by three omnidirectional slashes above chest height and finished with either a stronger forward diagonal slash or a million stabs which is a rapid thrust spazz that is literally one million stabs done under two seconds. Dante added the million stab flair to the final edge of his Rebellion B whilst Ray prefers the diagonal slash for Hunter B. After the B Combo the million stabs either continues longer or is executed at first then a high time followed with a powerful demon energy charged upper slash similar to a baseball bat swing but with the sharp end of the sword.) as Dante activated his devil trigger and sent an over-penetrating stinger attack to hit multiple demons and angels.

Emilia was enraged, quickly hacking through angel and demon victims alike trying to cut a path towards her Father which Ray noticed and quickly switched to Vanguard and used an action called Shadowblur which more or less is a ground version of an Air Trick (A simple shadowed flash or blur afterimage forms where he is and he then appears in similar fashion to where he's going.) to get behind Emilia and deflect an Abyssal's ranged attack by slashing the burning scythe back at the Abyssal, detonating it's head and killing the demon.

Emi tossed the Twin Sun back at Ray that he had given her earlier in the fight which prompted Ray to grab it, draw it's counterpart and execute his own Twosome Time (An Akimbo tactic which involves shooting two targets at once, those two targets being at different angles such as in flanking positions or directly behind and a target that is directly in front. Visual Sight is used to hit your primary target and additional senses unique to a demon or angel or even Nephilim to hit your second.) on several demons and Angels.

After only three minutes the demons and paradiso angels are slain and the Ente Islan angels form worldgates to escape.

Emilia sends a Drive at a fleeting Ente Islan Angel and immediately after the pulse is sent forward Ray shoves her out of the way of a stinger executed by Gerald who is again no longer permitted to speak his own voice, instead a different voice comes out of his mouth, a voice Dante recognizes, that of Mundus.

Mundus, speaking through Gerald's body, says "Pathetic, again humans show weakness, taking the blow for a Nephilim at that as well. You should be ashamed."

Ray partially devil triggered his left hand and sent a powerful forward punch which made an aftershadow similar to Nero's Devil Bringer only the arm was black and the fingers crimson red, much like Dante's devil trigger colors but inverted. The punch sends Gerald back considerably though he did not let go of his sword which is now no longer impaled in Ray as a result though Ray's injury has already healed.

Mundus again speaks through Gerald, saying "Ah, this is interesting indeed. Never before has a human so perfectly infused demonic power into himself. Even the builders of the Temen-Ni-Gru had their bodies warped and twisted because the could not fully control their newfound power. Come serve me boy and you will find a place and power beyond what you have ever known. I may even allow the Nephilim to live as your pet."

Ray drew Twin Suns and severely injured Gerald's body in response, Emilia shouted in protest as Gerald's voice began to speak, saying "Emilia, you seem to have unlocked your full potential. I can only assume you found my journal. Become strong. That is all I can ask for."

Emilia was about to reply as tears rolled down her eyes. Gerald could speak but not control his body as a worldgate formed behind him to which he retreated, Emilia rushed ahead only for Ray to grab her leg, barely preventing her from chasing Gerald into a certain death situation and as the gate closed in front of her, she spun around with a heavy flap with her wings, knocking Ray off his feet as she shouted "Why did you do that!"

Ray replied "Your not thinking straight! He's probably retreated to the Demon World, that's a place you do not want to go, you may have unlocked your powers but you aren't skilled enough with them yet to survive a trip there. You have to keep your cool whenever your father appears or you won't be able to survive."

Emilia shouted back, saying "There has to be a way to save my father! I refuse to accept that he's lost, that he's gone. At the very least I believe he can fight it!"

Dante interceded in the conversation, saying "There is a way to save him, but he can't save himself. The only way the spellbind can be broken is by you. He cannot affect it himself because he is the one spellbound. It sounded like Mundus is the one who did it which means a brute force approach from the victim wont work. Mundus is too powerful. Whatever you know of Satan is nothing compared to Mundus. That fry cook isn't even a bad copy, he's insignificant in comparison. Ray and I can teach you how to attack spellbound and possessed victims, how to exorcise the demonic influences, but it won't be a quick study. It involves a lot of boring explanations on how to control your demonic energy. I learned by chance when fighting a possessed rock queen. Explaining it to someone else is better suited for Ray. You want to save your father then you have to accept that it will take time."

Emilia stared at Dante for a few seconds before turning her head to Ray, her Angelic wings faded out as well as her summoned armor. Her civilian clothes were mostly intact, only a single tear in the blue jacket's left shoulder though her pink T-shirt was undamaged.

She wiped the tears from her eyes and nodded before saying "You're right. I need to stay calm and think straight."

Ray walks up to her and sets his hand on her right shoulder, saying "Emilia, I will do everything in my power to help your father. I can't promise anything because you are the one who has to carry out the exorcism, it cant be anyone else, it simply wont work. This happened because of your sheer existence but your very existence is what gives hope that he can be saved."

Emilia loses control of her emotions, crying excessively as she wraps her arms around Ray in a hug. Dante understands how she feels. He lost his mother to Mundus long ago as well as his brother. In his mind, Emilia is lucky, there's still a chance her father can be saved and furthermore her mother is probably alive somewhere in Ente Isla's heaven realm. For him Eva and Sparda are dead, his parents are out of reach but Emilia still has her family, they just need to be reunited.

Dante spoke, saying "I'll help out too. I understand what you're going through right now. I also have some unfinished business with Mundus that I'm hoping I can finish."

Emilia wiped her tears and let go of Ray, nodding at him then at Dante, saying "Thank you. Both of you..."

* * *

Too be continued...

* * *

Afterword:

An explanation on Ray's combat styles and actions as well as a reminder on Dante's actions for those unfamiliar with them all or having merely forgotten.

Ray's Styles:

Bladedancer:

Similar to Swordmaster with a mix of Royal Guard. Ray can enter a defensive parrying stance which enables him to deflect oncoming attacks. If put into DMC Gameplay a perfectly timed block would negate any damage and stagger your attacker whilst a normal hold of the stance would prevent yourself from being staggered by low impact attacks and halve their damage much like Royal Guard's block stance. Offensive Melee actions are improved with additional attacks and increased agility. The styles are not just intellectual but also physical states which focus demonic energy on improving specific functions of the body or being focused on channeling to external objects such as firearms which is what Skirmisher is. Unlike Dante Ray does not need to be in Bladedancer to execute a Dance Macabre, instead that move is either done for cinematic effect or if in gameplay would be linked to Vanguard style. Bladedancer enables an attack called Godslayer which is explained in full in Devil May Cry:Rise of Kylanos. I will explain it here as well.

Godslayer involves a Type 2 (DMC4) Dance Macabre then Ray switches to Predator (His Katana Devil Arm) and executes a multiple slash combo which then carries over to Reaper (A Scythe Devil Arm Ray which like Predator is merely another form of Hunter, Ray has no name for all his devil arms collectively despite the fact that they are the same weapon.) which unleashes a flurry of attacks similar to DmC Reboot's Osiris weapon which then throws the scythe forward in a round trip like attack (though the scythe is magically connected by a black demonic chain which is used to recall the weapon or to be used as a separate weapon alongside Reaper.) and then recalls it via chain and switches back to Hunter to finish with a Drive which can be extended into an Overdrive (Two Additional Energy Slashes) at which point the action is called Neo-Godslayer).

Vanguard:

A mix between Trickster and Swordmaster which focuses on support attacks which keep enemies at bay or shove them back as well as agility to evade. Like Trickster Ray can dash rapidly three times before a short interval of recovery (less than 2 seconds) before being able to quickly dash again. If put into gameplay offensive moves would include mimics of Prop Shredder and Dance Macabre as well as increasing the damage and blast back distance of the final slash in the A and B combos (As Hunter B combo ends like Rebellion B in DMC3, with a forward horizontal slash instead of a million stabs). Physically speaking Vanguard would increase demonic power in Ray's neck and leg muscles as well as his skeletal system, enabling his body to withstand the stresses of even faster movements as well as being able to Air Trick and Shadowblur as a result.

Skirmisher:

An external assistance on physical states. Skirmisher would channel demonic energy into the weapons instead of parts of the body which would enable an increase in the number of follow up slashes for an Overdrive (from 2 followups to four followups), increase the damage and range of Predator's pressure cut ranged attacks (Which are kind of a mix between Yamato's judgement cut and Rebellion's Drive.) as well as charging any equipped firearms with demonic red lightning which turns any normal shots into charged shots on a gameplay comparison. Full Gameplay wise Skirmisher would be mostly like Gunslinger with a mix of ranged attacks from Swordmaster's DMC4 variant (As Round Trip is considered a conventional action in DMC4)

Weapons:

Hunter is more or less a non-lightning Alastor without a bat spitting out the blade design though the hilt is comprised of bat wings going out the sides like Alastor. There is, like with rebellion a Skull design in the center of the hilt and the blade protrudes out from the top of the skull (Unlike Rebellion which has a bone like tower below the blade)

Predator is a Katana like Yamato but the grip/handle is black with white center diamonds instead of white with black center diamonds. The Hilt of the blade is silver in color and the blade itself is the same as Yamato. Like Yamato the blade when charged for ranged attacks glows purple. Unlike Yamato however Predator does not use widespread judgement cuts for ranged attacks. Instead it relies on horizontal and vertical slashes which send demonically charged energy along with a trail of hyper-pressurized air currents for ranged attacks. In the end it is more accurate and longer ranged than a judgement cut if put into gameplay. Cinematic effect would have the two the same range (As Dante was able to use Yamato to slice the Hellgate in half from over 2 miles away)

There are other Devil Arms that Ray has (Such as Reaper) that are fully explained in Devil May Cry:Rise of Kylanos however when I reveal them here I will give an afterword or in-chapter description of the weapon.

* * *

"Till next time." - Kylandor


End file.
